


Taste

by A_A_Dolan



Category: Frerard/Gerard Way/Frank Iero
Genre: Angst, Attraction, Bisexual, Curiosity, Drama, Family, Gay, Love, Lust, M/M, Marriage, Minor Drug/Alcohol use, Romance, Violence, affair
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:34:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 51,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21712297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_A_Dolan/pseuds/A_A_Dolan
Summary: The most forbidden fruit always tastes the sweetest.When married man, father, and successful artist, Gerard Way, meets an Italian, attractive, hazel eyed musician/singer at a local café...an instant attraction occurs and when things between them get hot and heavy...sudden consequences come with the price of being unfaithful.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Lindsey Ballato/Gerard Way
Comments: 78
Kudos: 106





	1. Family

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also available on my Wattpad; same username, too. Give it a read and hopefully like it. Blessed be ~ 🖤

The sun was barely risen as the chirping of thebirds played a gentle little tune outside of the Way residence in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. Gerard Way was preparing lunch for his young daughter, Bandit, while his wife, Lindsey, was washing the dishes from their breakfast.

“Apple or banana, Bandit?” Gerard asked his daughter, who was coloring her drawing with some crayons of every color and colored pencils on the dining table.

“Banana, please!” She responded happily—a wide and toothy smile spread across her little round, porcelain white face, kicking her little legs around as she continued coloring.

“You got it, my little monkey.” She giggled softly; her cheeks rosy red, and she lifted up her head to shoot a quick gaze over at him, playfully sticking her tongue out at him.

“What’re your plans for today?” Lindsey asked her husband while drying off the now clean dishes.

“Shouldn’t you be worried about your art show? You’ve been dreading this day since you sent all your new work over to the gallery.” Gerard responded as he packed the last item in Bandit’s lunchbox—a small box of apple juice to go with her banana, her peanut butter and jelly sandwich with the crusts cut off, and a small carton of banana-strawberry yogurt—zipping it closed.

“I am—but asking about your plans helps take my mind off of it.” They both chuckled as he then made his way over to his wife—wrapping an arm around her small waist and placing a sweet, gentle kiss against her cheek, making her smile.

“Well, I’m halfway done with the new comic—so I’ll either work on finishing it, or maybe write some music. I haven’t touched music for a while.” She nodded her head in response before moving her enormous dark eyes to look over at Gerard.

“Sounds nice, babe. I wish you could attend my art show...”

“I know, me too.” Gerard’s earthly green eyes with a small touch of umber stared into Lindsey’s dark, rich, walnut brown eyes...he smiled a small half-smile over at his wife before slowly leaning his face forward to capture her lips with his, kissing her softly.

She smiled back at Gerard against his lips while kissing him back.

“Ewww—mommy, daddy...” Bandit groaned in disgust as her little face scrunched up, making both her parents laugh as they toned down the affection. Bandit was ready for school; Gerard helped her with her coat since it looked like it was going to pour heavy rain later that day, along with packing her umbrella while Lindsey helped her with her backpack.

“Daddy, why can’t I stay at home with you...?”

“Cause you’ve got school, monkey.”

“But school is boring...I can’t go with mommy to her art show because she said it’s only for grownups...” Bandit was pouting while looking up at Gerard with her big dark eyes. She had her mother’s eyes.

“I’m sorry B, I really am. I know you wanna stay home with me, and I know you wanna go with mommy to her show—but you’ve got school. You’re not sick, so you don’t need to stay home.”

“...well, there is one thing I’m excited for at school. I get to go to art class today!” Both Gerard and Lindsey smiled, and Gerard kneeled down her level to give her a hug and kiss.

“That’s awesome, B. How about you make something beautiful for me and mommy?”

“You got it, daddy.” Bandit responded with a thumbs up, making Gerard chuckle as he placed one more kiss against her forehead.

“C’mon monkey, time to go.” Lindsey said, holding her hand out to her. Bandit hugged her father once more before taking mother’s hand in her’s. They both waved goodbye at Gerard as they left the house and made it over the family car.

Gerard was now left alone at home, and managed to work a little more on his new comic, then he played some random little tunes in his music room; strumming away on a guitar while writing some lyrics...feeling somewhat cooped up at home, he decided to take a trip over to his favorite café.

Not wanting to take his car, Gerard decided to take the bus. He always enjoyed public transportation or simply just taking long walks outdoors—he enjoyed the scenery. It helped take his mind off things. Once he made his way over to the café and inside, he ordered his usual and decided to check out the book section inside the café. 

Reading a few pages from a poetry book, he could then hear the clear and soft sounds of a guitar strumming...sometimes people came to that café to perform entertainment for the sitting customers and locals. Some recited poetry, sang covers of songs, played instruments, or even juggled. Gerard followed the sounds of the guitar plucking away; making a nice and catchy little melody...followed by a soft, low, and raspy voice singing into the microphone. 

Gerard caught onstage a man sitting on a stool with an electric guitar resting on his lap as he continued strumming his little tune; his hands were tattooed with all sorts of different pictures, designs, and colors. His hair was dark brown—almost black looking, short, and combed neatly...Gerard got a good look at his face as he watched him perform on the stage.

He was beautiful; stunningly attractive—his eyes were round and enormous, and he had fair looking cream colored skin.

He sang unknown lyrics into the microphone while continuing to strum away on his guitar. The coffee/tea drinkers watched the handsome performer on the stage, and even catching the attention of readers...Gerard was in complete awe with him and his performance.

After the guy performed a few more songs, everyone clapped—seemingly pleased by his singing and he went over to the front to order himself a hot cup of Joe.

“...uh, hey—excuse me?” Gerard felt his heart thumping away inside of his chest as he slowly made his way over to the entertainer after hesitating more than he’d like to admit, feeling extremely anxious for some odd reason, and he even lightly tapped the guy on his shoulder, getting his attention.

“I’m sorry—I don’t mean to disturb you or anything but...I just wanted to say I thought you were pretty good up there. Your performance was probably the best one this place has ever had.” The handsome stranger smiled a small and toothy grin over at Gerard, making him blush. He got an even better look at him now that he was up close to him—his eyes were a beautiful, deep hazel. The ceiling lights shined into them and they looked more bright green; the mocha shade surrounding his pupils...his nose was small and rounded at the tip—and Gerard eventually noticed the scorpion tattoo resting on the right side of his neck.

“Grazie. I’m glad you enjoyed the show.” He responded with a slight accent to his voice, his smiling widening across his handsome face, making his eyes look even brighter than before.

“Nice accent—what is it?” Gerard immediately felt like an idiot for asking and his cheeks flushed bright rogue in embarrassment.

“Sono Italiano.” Gerard raised an eyebrow at him, unsure on how to respond.

“I’m Italian.” He translated himself, chuckling softly while still smiling over at him. 

“That’s pretty cool. Were you born there?”

“Sì. Born in Tuscany, Italy. Lived there since I was fifteen—my family moved to America shortly after my fifteenth birthday.” His accent wasn’t too strong but it wasn’t fully gone, either. Gerard couldn’t get over how incredibly attractive he was...like a rare painting—especially with all the tattoos he was able to see permanently inked into his skin.

“Well...I hope you’re at least liking it here in California.”

“Oh, I am. I’ve seen many beautiful places since I moved here. I do miss my home, but every now and then I take a trip back to Tuscany.” Gerard remained silent as he got lost looking into the stranger’s beautiful hazel eyes...they were stunning.

“Caramel macchiato for Frank?” The barista announced as she handed him his cup of coffee. Frank—now he knew his name.

“Your name is Frank?” Gerard asked him. Frank nodded his head while taking a sip of his coffee, licking the whipped cream off his upper lip with his tongue.

“Frank Anthony Thomas Iero, Jr. but you can just call me Frank.” Gerard chuckled softly while nodding his head in response. He then held his hand out to Frank.

“I’m Gerard. Gerard Arthur Way.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Gerard. Piacere davvero.” Frank said as he placed his hand in Gerard’s and they shook gently but firmly. Unaware of how much time had passed, Gerard found himself sitting down and chatting with Frank Iero—they talked like they knew each other for quite some time, Frank was very soft spoken and pretty funny; cracking jokes here and there, making Gerard laugh...usually Gerard was always reserved and too anxious to strike up a conversation with anyone, let alone a stranger. But there was something about Frank—his charming personality, his smile, his laugh, his accent...it drew Gerard in and he felt...safe.

“So, you’re a musician?”

“Trying to be one, but sì.”

“You sing pretty well, I think. And you’re also really good at guitar...I can’t play that well, but I’ve been practicing.” Frank raised one of his perfect and naturally thin eyebrow as the left corner of his mouth curled into a smirk.

“You play?” Gerard found himself blushing again; the familiar shade of rouge appearing on his cheeks out of the blue. Frank noticed and he couldn’t help but chuckle out a soft and breathy chuckle.

“I’m more of a singer, really...” Frank’s smirk twisted into a full, toothy smile now as both eyebrows were raised, now.

“Really? Are you any good?” Gerard lowered his head, staring down at his coffee, which was room temperature now, almost growing cold. He responded by shrugging his shoulders, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“...I’m alright, but...really, I’m more of an artist these days.” The smile on Frank’s face wouldn’t soften or shrink, he was fascinated by Gerard.

“Wow—mi stupisci.”

“What?” Gerard asked, feeling confused, making Frank laugh.

“You amaze me.” He translated himself again, his Italian accent coming out a little stronger that time. Gerard could feel his face burning up and he was most certain that his entire pale, white face was completely ruby red, now.

“...why?”

“Non è ovvio? You have so many talents. You play music; you sing songs; you’re an artist. You have many passions.” 

“No...I just...I don’t know.” Gerard mumbled under his breath, finally bringing the mug over to his lips and sipping the lukewarm coffee.

“I’d love to hear you sing, someday. Maybe you could join me for one of my performances?” Gerard brought his green eyes back over to Frank; earthly, emerald green meeting with rich hazel—soft honey mixed with peridot green...Frank was still smiling, but now his smile was small and less toothy as he waited for Gerard’s response.

“...are you being serious?” Frank let out a loud and breathy laugh, making Gerard smile and laugh along with him.

“Why wouldn’t I be? You said you sing. I’d really like for you to join me on the stage.” His accent was smooth and rich—Gerard found himself very intrigued by the sound of his voice. He could listen to him speak about anything all day.

“...I haven’t sang in a while...and...well...I get anxious around people—especially crowds, big or small.”

“Non una persona?” His language rolled off the tongue so naturally that Gerard found himself staring at him with his mouth nearly hanging open...he was in complete awe with this man...this stranger with the most beautiful eyes he’s ever seen. 

“...I wish I understood Italian, I’m so sorry...” Gerard chuckled awkwardly, and Frank shook his head while still smiling.

  
"No, no—my apologies. I'm fluent in several languages—Italian, English, and French. My English isn't perfetto; it's my third spoken language I learned once I moved to America with my family. French is my second I learned once I was around two, my family and I traveled to France, a lot. I've lived here a long time now, but I try to stay in touch with my roots...I often find myself speaking Italian more than English, some days. And French too, depending on where I go." Gerard raised his eyebrows once he heard the word 'French'.

“You speak French, too...?” 

“Oui, je parle français.” Frank responded in perfect French, again—it came out so naturally and it rolled right off his tongue...making goosebumps appear on Gerard’s skin.

“Anything else you’d like to say...?” Gerard asked him, chuckling softly and awkwardly, again.

“Je pense que tu es beau. Vous avez de beaux yeux.” Frank responded in fluent French, smiling at Gerard the entire time he spoke—he was even blushing...Gerard wondered what he had said to him.

“...what’d you say, huh?” 

“Ah, that’s where the fun begins. It’s for me to know and you to find out.” Frank winked over at him. They sat there in silence for a long, uninterrupted while—gazing over at one another, and both their smiles now softened and small, but they remained on their faces.

Gerard then broke eye contact from Frank to check his phone after it went off in his pocket...he had been at the café for over an hour long and it was a text message from Lindsey.

Lindsey ❣️ :

“Hey babe! How are you? I’m so anxious for tonight...I really hope my art show goes well...” Gerard could feel his heart racing rapidly inside of his chest now...his jaded green eyes shifted over to his shiny, golden, wedding band that rested on his left ring finger. The ceiling lights shined down against it...suddenly he felt a wave of different emotions crashing against him; guilt, regret, anxious, and depressed.

“...uh...Frank, I gotta get going.”

“Where?”

“Home. I gotta work on my art—supposed to have it done already...”

“My apologies...I kept you. Let me give you a ride home.”

“Oh no, really, I don’t mind taking the bus back.”

“You said you needed your artwork done by today, sì?” Gerard nodded his head in response...just then his phone went off again—another text from Lindsey.

Lindsey ❣️ :

“Babe? You there?” 

“Then, let me drive you home. Bus ride will take longer, keeping you from work longer—I don’t mind. Per favore lasciami?” Frank did have a point...he wanted to say no, but he didn’t want to be rude. Gerard just couldn’t resist his offer.

The drive was quicker than a bus ride; Frank had Gerard home in fifteen minutes or less, and they were quiet the entire drive to Gerard’s house...the only sound was the classic rock music playing from Frank’s car radio.

“Which house?” Frank asked Gerard as he pulled his car into Gerard’s neighborhood.

“...uhh, the dark grey two-story house with all the flowers in the front.” Frank quickly found the house that Gerard had described to him and parked his car outside of it.

“Casa dolce casa. Tu es à la maison.” Frank announced in both Italian and French, smiling over at Gerard once more.

“Thank you for the ride home, Frank. Really...you’re a lifesaver.”

“No. I’m simply just me. I wanted to give you a ride home is all—and I’m happy to accepted my offer.” Frank smiled his sweet, gorgeous, and toothy smile over at Gerard again...his hazel eyes looking bright in the sunlight that shined through the car windows; his eyes were now the color of honey and jade...absolutely breathtaking.

“Grazie.” Gerard thanked him in Italian, making Frank raise an eyebrow as his smile widened across his handsome, angelic, fair complexed face.

“Molto bene. Bravo.” Gerard bit down on his bottom lip, blushing in embarrassment—feeling completely bashful as he broke eye contact with him once more, reaching for the car door handle.

“So...have you decided?”

“Excuse me...?”

“Are you going to join me on stage, someday? Sing a couple of songs with me while I play the guitar?” 

“Ohh...right. Um...I didn’t think you were serious.”

“I was. I am. But, I need an answer.”

“...well, when do you usually perform at the café?”

“Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. On Fridays I perform later—since most people are off of work or school on Saturday.” Gerard contemplated the idea of meeting Frank Iero, an Italian musician/singer—just trying to make it big and become successful in life, at his usual hangout at his favorite café, joining him on the stage to perform a couple of songs in front of paying customers...it sounded exciting, but at the same time absolutely terrifying.

“...I don’t know...”

“It’s no pressure, Gerard. You don’t have to if you don’t want to, I won’t take it personally.”

“It’s not that...I just have a lot of work to do, and I’ve got a family to take care of...I just don’t know.”

“Well, even if you say no—you know where to find me, now.”

“How about I give you my number? That way I can let you know once I’ve made up my mind—be easier to contact you.” Frank grinned at the suggestion and nodded his head in response. Gerard took out his phone, went into his contacts, and handed it over to Frank—he watched him punch in his number and save it into his phone, handing it back to him afterwards.

“Alright. I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Sì. Aspetterò.” They exchanged handshakes, Gerard thanked Frank for his kindness once more, and made his way out of his car and into his home. 

After closing the front door behind him, Gerard had to lean his back up against it to catch his breath...he let out a loud sigh; exhaling sharply while leaning his head back—staring up at the ceiling above him...his heart was going crazy inside of his chest and each hard thump of his heartbeat made his chest ache. His breathing was hard, heavy, and unsteady...even his hands were trembling. He then let out a soft chuckle...the chuckling turned into giggling and Gerard felt his face burn up at the thought of Frank Anthony Thomas Iero, Jr...the attractive, hazel eyed, talented musician/singer. 

He was incredibly kind, humble, funny, and just...great. Gerard couldn’t stop smiling and giggling, but all it took was looking over at a framed photograph hung up on the wall of him with Lindsey and Bandit. They all looked so happy...permanent smiles captured with the flash of a camera...his beautiful family. The overwhelming wave of emotions came crashing down on him again, feeling like heavy weights on his shoulder...why was he daydreaming about someone he just met...? A man...? Why was Gerard so fixated on Frank? Why did he make his heart go wild...? Gerard closed his eyes, inhaled deeply—trying to clear his mind and relax.

Even with his eyes closed, all he could see was the clear image of Frank’s face looking at him...smiling his beautiful and perfect smile over at him while staring at him with his stunning, bright, mysterious eyes...the idea of performing with him at the café seemed completely harmless. 

Gerard did wonder though if he’d be able to control himself around Frank though...if he’d be able to look past his charm and good looks. If he’d be able to remind himself that he’s a married man and a father. But, he couldn’t stop thinking about Frank’s eyes. His entire face was now embedded into his brain.


	2. Indecisive

Carrying on the rest of the day like it was another typical day, Gerard tried to take his mind off of Frank—he tried to finish his comic, but couldn’t focus...no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get any work done. Feeling frustrated with himself, Gerard found himself going into his study where all his music equipment was—alongside a tall easel, untouched and plain white canvases, and jars filled with cloudy, colorful water from the paint that rested on the bristles of the paintbrushes.

Without realizing it, he wandered over to his guitar that rested on its holder...examined it before he carefully gripped onto the neck of his guitar, lifting it up while sitting himself down in his chair, where he always sat whenever he played his guitar. Plucking away at a few random chords; even tuning it—trying to find the perfect sound...finally, Gerard began to strum his hand away at the strings; playing a simple little melody that echoed all throughout the room...strumming the little melody into a rhythm, even lightly tapping his foot against the floor while continuing to play. 

Gerard began to fantasize about what it’d be like to perform on stage with Frank beside him...the handsome, hazel eyed, tattooed, Italian man would play a little tune—leaving the vocal work to him. The thought of him singing in front of anyone made his skin crawl; his heartbeat quickened; his breathing stopped...he stopped playing the guitar to gasp softly for a breath of air, trying to calm his nerves that already felt jittery.

Why was he so fascinated by Frank...? A total stranger he just met at his favorite little café—playing his guitar while and singing...not only was he attractive, but he was very kind. So easy to talk to; Gerard was like an open book with Frank, and he’s told him things he’s never even told Lindsey...he’s told him things he’s never even told his younger brother, Mikey. Gerard even told Frank things he’s never told his own parents...there was something about Frank’s voice; his smooth Italian accent—the way the corners of his mouth would curl into that little smirk while he laughed...and when he spoke either Italian or French, it made goosebumps appear on Gerard’s skin.

Feeling an overwhelming amount of guilt wash over him like a huge wave, he shook his head while letting out a loud sigh, stood up from his chair and put the guitar back in its holder on the floor and walked out of the music room. He sat on the couch in the living room, putting the TV on for background noise as he hung around on his phone...Lindsey occasionally texted him and they chatted for a bit before she had to go back to work for her art show later that day...Gerard thought about Bandit; what she was doing at school that very moment and how he couldn’t wait to see his little girl once school was out.

He debated with himself whether or not to tell Lindsey about Frank, the Italian musician/singer he met earlier...he couldn’t see why not, it wasn’t like they did anything...or so he thought to himself, though he was pretty sure Frank was flirting with him.

At the same time...Gerard knew his wife was somewhat of a jealous type; she wouldn’t admit it, but he’s seen her act on the emotion more than enough times to count. Gerard tapped his foot against the floor below him as his big, doe, almond shaped, green eyes were glued to his phone screen...staring directly at the name above the cell number.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸

Gerard couldn’t help but smirk at the emojis Frank had chose for his contact info...he had such an energetic and fun sense of humor. Not much like Lindsey, he’d hate to admit...she used to be fun, wild, and carefree. But...now she’s seemed to tame herself. Maybe she just matured a little...Gerard didn’t hate her for that...he didn’t hate her at all. But he did miss feeling young, wild, and free. He loved her; he loved Bandit—his whole world...he did like his life...but, he felt like something was missing...a part of him that used to be so happy and satisfied.

He was tempted to text him...let him know it was him talking to him—share his number with him. Gerard wanted to...his heart was beating erratically inside of his chest; his nerves were tingling and it felt as if he had the flutters of a butterfly’s wings inside of his belly...he wanted to text him. But, he was afraid of what would happen if he did...Gerard would open a door that he was afraid he’d never close...yet, at the same time he didn’t care.

“Hey there, Frank. It’s me—it’s Gerard, from the café? Anyways...yeah, you mentioned you’d be waiting for my text so...here it is. Remember to save my number and we can discuss the whole performing together idea. Get back to me whenever you can, take care.”  He hesitated for a moment to hit the send button...he reread his text, over and over. He took a deep breath—kept telling himself that it was strictly business and hopefully a healthy friendship...Lindsey had tons of friends, so why couldn’t he? Finally, after a long moment of hesitation...Gerard sent the message, but his heart didn’t calm down.

He was even more surprised when he got an immediate response from Frank...he thought Frank would either take forever to respond; days or even weeks...or he would just ignore him, completely. But no, he indeed texted back in a heartbeat.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Ciao, bellezza dagli occhi verdi. I was worried I wouldn’t hear from you at all. Got your number saved into my contacts. Come va?” Gerard felt his chest tighten up and his heart was thumping away so hard that it felt like it was about to burst out of his chest...he felt his lips curling into a grin again as he read the text message in Frank’s voice; hearing the accent and everything...he loved that he even messaged him in Italian.

“Oh, if only I knew how to speak or at least understand Italian  😓 but, hi. I wasn’t expecting to hear back from you so quickly.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“I said ‘aspetterò’. That means ‘I’ll be waiting’ in Italian.  😁❤️ ” Gerard felt himself blushing—even his face heated up and he bit down on his bottom lip, still grinning.

“Right. Well...how are you? What are you up to?” 

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Non tanto—working on a song I’m planning on performing at the café this upcoming Friday. Speaking of which...have you decided, yet?” 

“This Friday...? Oh, wow...that’s pretty soon...that’s in two days. Guess that means I’ve gotta make up my mind quickly...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Sì, è giusto. I don’t mean to rush you, but I’d like to know ahead of time. Sì o no?” Gerard understood that last part. If he agreed to perform with Frank, he’d definitely have to tell his wife about the whole thing. He knew how Lindsey would react...she’d play it off calmly and nonchalantly, especially with Bandit around. But once they were alone, she’d slowly ask him all sorts of questions in a calm manner...it was hard to really understand how she felt when she remained so chill.

“Frank...listen, I’d like to perform some music with you on stage at the café but...my wife is unaware of our encounter and I haven’t told her, yet.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Perché? Why do you need to ask your wife for permission to do things? You’re not a child, you’re allowed to do your own things.  😕 ”

“I know, but...my wife is...well...she’s kind of the jealous type. Not super badly, but I don’t know how she’d feel about my wanting to play music with you—a total stranger that she doesn’t know.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Forgive me, chiedo scusa, but...your wife sounds somewhat controlling.”

“I don’t think she is...she’s just...possessive? She doesn’t mind me doing my own things; having my space, but when it comes to going out—she doesn’t like me doing that on my own...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 : 

“Mi dispiace. That sounds unfortunate...but, your wife shouldn’t have a problem with you making friends and socializing.  😐😔 ”

“I just need to let her know first before I agree or disagree to anything. I promise I’ll get back to you once I’ve told her.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Sicuro. Je comprends.” Frank texted Gerard back in both Italian and French, making him smile a small, half-smile before it quickly faded...he felt bad for not giving him an immediate response.

“I’m sorry, Frank. Please don’t be angry with me...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Tu es trop jolie pour être triste. And no worries Gerard, I’m not mad at you. Non potrei mai essere arrabbiato con te.  ❤️😉 ” Gerard didn’t understand most of the text message, but from the way Frank typed it out—how calm he was...not to mention, the obvious flirting.

“Well...I’ll talk to Lindsey about it when I see her, later. I’ll get back to you, okay?”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Ovviamente. Aspetterò, stai attento.  ❤️ ” And with that, Gerard reread the last text message from Frank...he only understood one part.

“I’ll be waiting.”  His heart was still racing rapidly inside of his chest as he reread the message one last time before he turned off the screen on his phone; watching it go completely black—his own clear reflection staring back at him...he decided to tell Lindsey about performing some music with Frank later that night once she got home from her art show and they were alone. He just hoped it would go smoothly and she wouldn’t be bothered or clearly not too thrilled with the idea.


	3. Encounter

Gerard picked up Bandit from school on time. He waited for her outside of his car, outside of her school alongside with the other parents waiting for their children. She was all smiles and ran over to Gerard when she saw him standing outside of his parked car.

"Daddy!" Bandit exclaimed happily; her cheeks rosy as she showed off her bright, pearly whites. Gerard smiled back at his daughter as he scooped her little body up in his arms once she was close enough and practically jumped into his arms. They hugged each other tightly as Bandit planted several sweet kisses all over her dad's face.

"I missed you, daddy." She said, still smiling at him.

"I missed you too, monkey. How was school?" Gerard asked his young daughter while putting her down on her two feet, opening the car door to the backseat for her.

"It was good—I made lots of pretty drawings for you and mommy! But I want to show you both at the same time, so we have to wait for mommy when she comes back from her art show."

"Sounds like a plan, B. I'm sure you made us amazing drawings and I know I'm excited to see them."

"Can we go to the park?" She asked him once she was in her seat and Gerard helped buckle her in.

"Don't you have homework?"

"Yeah, but it's super easy! I'll do it later, please? I wanna play on the swings." She pleaded with him while giving him her puppy dog eyes...Gerard couldn't resist Bandit's baby browns and gave in.

"Okay, okay—but only for an hour. Then it's straight home and you do your homework while I prepare dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" Bandit responded cheerfully, bouncing around in her seat. Gerard played some music on the car radio for her as he drove them over to the nearest park; once they arrived, Bandit didn't hesitate to run straight towards the playground—mainly for the swing set, and popped onto the first, available, empty seat.

Gerard pushed his young daughter on the swing from behind, occasionally tickling her before pushing her higher and higher; making her giggle loudly. He chased her around the playground and even went down the slide with her several times before he realized he wasn't as young as he used to be and couldn't keep up...he got worn out and decided to sit down on one of the park benches, watching Bandit play and socialize with the other small children on the playground. He smiled to himself while watching her play, eventually pulling his pack of cigarettes out from the pocket of his shirt; placing one in between his lips as he fished for his lighter that rested deep within the pocket of his jeans...just as he lit the tip—inhaling the nicotine that burned the back of throat and filled his lungs.

Just as he took an inhale, a small puppy quickly approached him in excitement. It had short, black fur—with some slight golden coating around its little face and all four of its feet...it had big, bright, and coffee brown eyes.

"Oh—hi there, puppy." Gerard greeted the random puppy, chuckling softly as he playfully pet the puppy, which seemed to be a German Shepherd breed. Moments after, the puppy's owner approached him.

"Eccoti—corri così veloce..." Gerard's head snapped up only to see that the familiar voice; the familiar accent...it came from a familiar and handsome face.

Peridot green met with olive green and mocha brown mixture...he couldn't believe his own eyes it and his mouth nearly dropped open.

"Gerard! Ci incontriamo di nuovo!" Frank...he was there, at the same park as Gerard was. That was his third interaction with him that very same day they met...it was like a strange omen, or maybe it was a coincidence? Either way, he couldn't believe Frank was actually there.

"Frank...? I...what are you doing here...? I mean, uh...hi." He stuttered over his own words as he blushed in embarrassment—taking another drag off his cigarette.

"I live around here—I take my dog, Lois, for walks at this park." Frank responded to him, smiling down at him as the remaining sunlight that lingered around the once teal colored sky that was now fading into a rich, deep rose gold shade—the small and fluffy clouds turning to an enriching magenta color, had shined in his enormous, rounded, hazel eyes. The sunlight made his eyes look lighter and they even looked like they were shimmering.

"E tu?" He questioned him, still smiling his adorable, toothy, bright smile at him.

"My daughter wanted to play...she's over there." Gerard pointed his finger over at the playground, Frank turned his head to gaze over at which child was Gerard's.

"She's the little short one wearing the little rainbow sweater, pink pants, and little pink shoes. Her hair is in a braid." Frank immediately found her while Gerard explained what she looked like and was wearing.

"Lei è bella! How old is she?"

"She's five. She'll be six, soon."

"What's her name?"

"Bandit." Frank lowered his beautiful, naturally thin eyebrows as his face scrunched up a bit, opening his mouth slightly to let out a soft chuckle.

"È unico. I've never heard such a name, before..."

"Yeah, it was more of my wife's idea...but it suits her, I think. I call her 'B' for short." Just as they talked about her, Bandit came running over towards them.

"Daddy, the ice cream truck is coming! Can I please have ice cream? Please?" She pleaded with her dad while grabbing onto his hand with both her tiny hands, jumping up and down.

"Before dinner? I don't think that'd be a good idea—"

"Oh daddy, pretty please...? I promise I'll do my homework as soon as we go home! And I'll even go to bed early." Frank smiled down at Bandit, finding it sweet to watch her and Gerard, together.

"Okay, okay. But don't mention a word to mommy—it'll be our little secret. Deal?"

"Deal!" She exclaimed happily, bouncing even more as a wide, toothy grin spread across her little face before she turned her gaze to look up at Frank.

"Who's he?" She asked Gerard, pointing her little finger up at him.

"B, don't be rude—it's not polite to point."

"No, no—va bene. Ciao, piccola principessa." Frank kneeled down to Bandit's level, holding his tattooed hand out to her—Lois wagged her tail excitedly as she tried climbing onto Frank's lap to lick his face.

"I like the way you talk—is it Italian?" Bandit asked Frank as she placed her small hand in his, shaking it gently.

"Si, sono italiano. You're a smart little girl." He raised his eyebrows in surprise as his smile grew wider across his handsome, cream white, face. Bandit giggled softly as he cheeks reddened a bit.

"What's your name?"

"Il nome Franco. Frank. And I know your name is Bandit."

"How'd you know my name?"

"Your father told me."

"Are you a friend of my daddy?" Frank moved his eyes upward, meeting Gerard's gaze...the corners of his mouth curled into that little smirk that made Gerard blush...that little smirk that made his heart go crazy.

"I'd like to think so, sì." Frank responded to Bandit's question, watching the soft blossom pink shade resting on Gerard's pretty, porcelain white face turn darker into a rouge shade.

The ice cream truck came arriving around the corner; the little familiar tune playing from the truck caught the attention of all the small children—they all fled from the playground and over to the truck with some parents following behind them.

"Daddy, the ice cream truck is here! C'mon! You too, Frank!" Bandit exclaimed excitedly as she grabbed both Gerard's and Frank's hand with both her tiny hands as she guided them over to the ice cream truck.

"What would you like, piccola principessa?" Frank asked her as he offered to pay for it. Gerard shook his head no and assured him he didn't need to do that, but Frank insisted—winking over at him.

"What does that mean?" Bandit asked, giggling as he looked up at him—kicking her little foot around as she then realized Lois was sniffing her while happily wagging her tail.

"Little princess." Frank responded, translating the meaning of his little pet name directed at Bandit. She giggled once more, feeling herself get all bashful as she then held her hand out for Lois...the puppy sniffed her hand before licking it and she proceeded by jumping on her—Lois was almost as tall as Bandit.

"My dog seems to like you. You wanna walk her while I buy your ice cream?" She looked up at Frank with wide, shimmering, enormous chocolate brown eyes. Then she looked over at Gerard for him to say it was okay. He smiled down at his young daughter and nodded his head in response.

"Thank you, Frank! And may I have a chocolate ice cream bar with vanilla on the inside, please?" Frank chuckled softly to himself as he smiled down at Bandit, gently patting the top of her head.

"Ovviamente, piccola principessa." He responded to her, making her giggle softly as she began to wander off with Lois down the sidewalk. He bought and paid for Bandit's ice cream bar and Gerard was completely speechless by everything he witnessed...how incredibly sweet he was with his daughter; how he offered to buy and pay for her ice cream...how he made Bandit laugh; made her smile...she's never opened up to new people like that, before.

"Gerard...?"

"Huh...?" Frank chuckled a soft and breathy chuckle at Gerard...Gerard was completely unaware that he had been staring at Frank with his mouth practically hanging open.

"Stupide bel homme." Frank said in perfect French. It made Gerard's heart race quicker than before.

"...what did you say...?"

"È un segreto." Frank responded in Italian, again. He winked at him, still smiling...Gerard didn't know how to respond so he just broke eye contact with Frank, took his daughter's ice cream bar out of Frank's tattooed hand and walked past him to go find Bandit. Frank worried he had upset Gerard as he followed behind him.

Bandit was running around the wide, green, grassy field with Lois running beside her—still wagging her tail happily as her long, pink tongue hung out of the corner of her mouth, and she occasionally jumped on Bandit—playfully knocking her over as she climbed all over her.

"B! Got your ice cream!" Gerard yelled out to her, waving the small, packaged, frozen treat in the air. Bandit picked herself up and didn't hesitate to run over to retrieve it—Lois still ran beside her.

"Thank you, daddy! And thank you too, Frank!" Gerard smiled down at his daughter before hugging her close against him, and she even hugged Frank.

"You're very welcome, Bandit." Frank responded as he gently patted her back, looking over at Gerard, who looked over at him with his beautiful, stunning, bright, green eyes. The way the remaining sunlight shined into them...they looked a fine mixture of peridot green to jade...but now that it was growing darker outside, his eyes looked almost olive green.

"B, give Frank's puppy back to him. Take a break and eat your ice cream before it melts, and then we have to get going."

"Okay, daddy. Here's your puppy, Frank—thank you for letting me play with her." She thanked him once more, smiling up at him as she handed the leash over to Frank.

"Anytime, piccola principessa." As she went over to sit down on one of the park benches to eat her treat, Frank and Gerard stood there in silence...neither one of them knew what the other was thinking and both of them were too nervous to speak.

"Are you angry with me, Gerard...?"

"Huh...? Oh, no...no, not at all."

"You seem bothered by something I said or did."

"No, no...you didn't say or do anything. You've been kind to me, and to my daughter...I didn't think you even liked kids."

"Oh, ovviamente. I love kids." Gerard raised an eyebrow, Frank gave him a surprised look as he too raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing...I just didn't expect someone like you to like children. You don't seem the type, I mean." Frank chuckled as he crossed his arms across his chest, shaking his head.

"Why's that? Because of how I look? My tattoos? My 'rockstar' appearance?" Gerard realized how dumb he sounded and immediately felt embarrassed as his cheeks flushed bright rouge.

"...I'm sorry...that was rude of me. You like kids. That's good...my daughter seems to like you. And your dog." Lois panted softly as she stared up at Gerard with her large, bright, dark eyes—her tongue still hanging out of the corner of her mouth, and her tail was still wagging.

"She's a sweet girl. Bella ragazza."

"...um...do you...do you have any kids...?" He asked Frank, feeling anxious as he impatiently waited for his response.

"No. I don't have any children." Frank finally responded as he continued smiling at Gerard. He loved his smile...he wouldn't admit it, but Gerard could stare at Frank's smile all day. He sighed in relief—loud enough for Frank to hear. That made his smile grow even wider, and he was now blushing.

"Oh...well, I'm sorry to hear that." Frank shrugged his shoulders, his smile remaining unchanged on his handsome face.

"It's okay. This is the life I chose—to be a musician and travel. It isn't all bad though...ti ho incontrato."

"...what did you say?" Gerard questioned Frank as he lowered his eyebrows—making that exact same face he made when he couldn't understand Frank.

"I met you." He translated himself. Gerard thought a musician wasn't what Frank was meant for...he thought he was meant to be a poet. Gerard felt completely flustered, his heart was racing rapidly inside of his chest; loud enough that he could hear it in his ears as he broke eye contact with Frank, once more.

"Daddy, I'm done!" Bandit announced as she skipped her way over towards him—she had little chocolate around her mouth. Gerard tried to hide the red staining his cheeks as he helped his daughter grab her coat and backpack before they made their way home.

"Bye, Frank!" Bandit said as she made her way over to him, hugged him, and waved her little hand up at him.

"Bye, piccola principessa. I hope to see you again, soon." Frank's eyes met with Gerard's again...he gave him one more smile; this time, it was small and he didn't show off his teeth.

"I do hope you'll perform some music with me on Friday, just let me know when you talk to your wife." Gerard knew he'd have to tell Lindsey now—Bandit was going to say something otherwise. He'd tell her once she came back home from her art show.

"...okay, Frank. Will do...I'll let you know. I gotta go—gotta take the little one home." Frank nodded his head in response and took the hint as he waved his hand at them both before turning his back to walk Lois back home.

Gerard drove Bandit home; once they were home, he helped her with her homework, made her dinner, gave her a bath, and read her a bedtime story.

"One more story, daddy...?"

"It's already past your bedtime, monkey. I'll make it up to you tomorrow. I promise."

"Okay, daddy."

"Give me a kiss." Bandit smiled up at her dad, giggling softly as she sat up for a moment and placed a sweet, little peck against his lips. He hugged her; he tucked her in; gave Bandit her favorite stuffed animal to sleep with, and turned on her nightlight before saying goodnight.

He was anxious about telling Lindsey about Frank...about him inviting him to perform music with him, a total stranger. Gerard had no idea as to why he was so nervous...sure, Frank was obviously quite the charmer; he was flirting with him...Gerard didn't flirt back, though. At least, he didn't think he did. He didn't do anything wrong...so why was he so scared? Once eleven pm came around, Lindsey finally came back from her art show. She looked exhausted as she went into the kitchen to search for something to drink and snack on...she was startled when she found her husband sitting at their island counter, sipping a cup of coffee he'd just made.

"Jesus, Gerard..."

"Sorry, babe...didn't mean to scare you." Lindsey chuckled softly as she sighed softly—making her way over to Gerard, embracing him with a hug as she kissed him.

"Missed you." She cooed softly in his ear, he could feel the warmth of her breath against his ear.

"Missed you, too. How was your art show?"

"Good. It went well...the critics seemed to like my work."

"Really? That's awesome, Lynz." She smiled over at him as she gently stroked his short, shaggy, walnut brown hair with her fingertips...her fingernails softly grazing against his scalp—making Gerard sigh softly as he closed his eyes at the feeling.

"How was your day?" She asked him as she began to place soft, little kisses against Gerard's cheek...then gently pressed her lips against his. They kissed one another sweetly and tenderly...he tried to focus on just her. But all he could see was Frank's handsome face in his mind...he could hear his voice—his accent...he could hear it clearly in his mind as he deepened the kiss.

Lindsey was a little surprised at her husband's sudden affection, but she wasn't complaining as she let out a soft moan against his lips—kissing him back, hungrily.

"...my day was weird..." He finally responded to his wife's question, breaking the kiss for a moment to catch his breath. They kissed each other again—this time, with more passion before Lindsey grabbed him by his hand, guided them to their bedroom...while he was on top of her bare, naked body—kissing her passionately as he thrusted himself in and out of her at a normal and steady pace, no matter how hard he tried to focus only on his wife...all he could see was Frank. All he could think about was Frank.

He'd wait until the new morning arrived to tell Lindsey about Frank; about his plan to perform with him on stage at the café...he just hoped that it would go over, smoothly. Gerard couldn't stop thinking about Frank...even when he eventually fell into a deep slumber after making love to Lindsey...all he dreamt about was Frank. He couldn't get him out of his mind.


	4. Wet Dream

He turned his gaze over at him—their eyes meeting...Gerard could feel his heart racing inside of his chest—fluttering around like the wings of a hummingbird. Frank smiled over at him with his beautiful, perfect, and toothy smile over at Gerard; that smile that was branded in his mind, that made goosebumps appear on his skin...Frank reached his hand out—gently placing it down against his...his skin was soft to the touch, almost like silk, and he was warm. Gerard broke eye contact for a brief moment to gaze down at Frank's tattooed hand down on his...his heart now thumping erratically inside of his chest; with each thump, it felt like his heart was about to explode.

"Sei così bello..." Frank spoke so softly in Italian, bringing Gerard's eyes back up to meet his, again. Unable to move or speak because he was so bewitched by Frank's charm and beauty, he was taken by an ecstatic embrace of Frank's lips as he didn't hesitate to lean his face forward and capture Gerard's lips with his.

His lips were just as soft and warm as his skin, and his breath tasted sweet...Gerard kissed Frank back; gently flicking his tongue over the beautiful, hazel eyed, tattooed, Italian man's lips before kissing them again—biting his bottom lip with his small, sharp, slightly crooked, and jagged teeth...Frank let out a small and soft sigh of pleasure as his tongue slipped inside of Gerard's mouth. Gerard let out a soft and breathy moan against Frank's mouth as he gently placed his hand down against his lap; lightly grazing his fingertips up the handsome, tattooed, Italian man's leg—doing the same as Frank and let his tongue slip inside...their tongues licked against one another as they deepened their heated kiss.

~

The sound of Gerard's phone ringing startled him awake as his heavy eyelids shot open widely, sitting up in bed while gasping loudly—waking Lindsey, who was cuddling up to him and sleeping soundly.

Gerard rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, his heart was racing inside of his chest as he reached over to grab his phone that was charging on the nightstand beside his bed. Once he read the name 'Mikey 😎' on his brightly lit screen, along with his photo, Gerard exhaled sharply...his head felt like it was heavy and spinning, his chest ached from how hard his heart was pounding inside of his chest, and his stomach felt like it was churning.

"...mmm...who is it...?" Lindsey asked her husband with a soft spoken, sleepy tone as she laid herself back down on their bed—her head lightly pressing against her pillow and her eyes were still closed.

"It's Mikey—sorry I woke you..." Gerard mumbled under his breath as he answered the phone and brought it to his ear.

"That's okay, babe...tell Mikey I said hi." Lindsey's voice was even softer now as she felt the sleep take over her, again.

"Mikey?"

"Hey Gee, what's up?"

"I was sleeping..." Gerard yawned as he continued to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, sorry man...I figured you'd be up by now since you're usually an early bird."

"Well...I had a busy night." He felt himself blushing as he looked over at his wife, who was still half-asleep, she had a small grin resting on her face as Gerard was certain she was thinking about what they did together, last night.

"Ahh—don't go into detail, please." Both Gerard and Mikey laughed over the phone.

"What'd you call for?"

"Well shit, I didn't realize I needed a reason to call my own brother."

"I didn't mean it like that, Mikey—I just meant, like, what did you want to talk about so early in the morning?"

"I'm in town—thought about dropping by to see you guys, but I wanted to make sure you'd be okay with that so I wouldn't just drop by out of the blue."

"Of course I'd want you to visit, dork. You're my brother—you're always welcome to our home, besides, it's been a while since we've seen you. And B has been dying to see her favorite uncle."

"I'm her only uncle, nerd." They both laughed again before making small talk and catching up.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I'll be there. Wanna meet up at the one little café you go to? I forget what it's called..." Gerard felt goosebumps appear all throughout his skin...his heart quickening as his breath got caught in the back of his throat...the thought of Frank popped back into his mind; clear as crystal, he could see his handsome face...his smile. Gerard could even hear his voice.

"...the...The Hotel Café?" Gerard stuttered over his own words—starting to wonder if he'd see Frank there if he came for some coffee with Mikey.

"Yeah, that one. They had decent coffee and I like the music the people performed onstage." Another moment of silence...Gerard's heart was still racing and he could hear it beating inside of his ears as he slowly turned his head and looked down at Lindsey; his wife was beautiful, he thought to himself...even while she slept. His peridot green eyes wandered over to her tattoos that rested permanently into her skin...at the same time, he kept thinking about Frank. He kept thinking about his tattoos.

"...yeah. Yeah, sure." Gerard finally responded.

"Cool. See you tomorrow, Gee. Love you."

"Love you, too. See ya. Oh, and Lindsey says hi."

"Tell her I said hey back." Gerard nodded his heads even though Mikey couldn't see him do it, and he hung up how phone and placed it back down on the nightstand.

As he laid himself back down in bed, Lindsey didn't hesitate to curl up to him to cuddle up.

"Mmmhey..." She mumbled softly, her eyes still closed. Gerard remained silent...he had to tell her about Frank; he had to tell Lindsey about his invite to perform music with him onstage...he was so nervous about telling her.

"...Lynz...?"

"...hmm?"

"...there's something I—" A light knock outside their bedroom door interrupted Gerard, waking Lindsey as she opened her eyes and sat herself up in bed, along with Gerard.

"Come in." The doorknob twisted and the door creaked open—Bandit stepped in, still wearing her pajamas while holding onto a Robin plushie.

"Hey there, monkey. Good morning."

"Hey, sweetheart." Both Gerard and Lindsey greeted their young daughter, smiling over at her as she smiled back at her parents before making her way over to their bed, climbing into it.

"Morning, mommy and daddy." Gerard leaned forward and placed a sweet and gentle kiss against Bandit's forehead. Lindsey grabbed a hold of her small hand in her own, leaned down and kissed it before softly squeezing it in her hand.

"You're supposed to be getting ready for school, B."

"I haven't had breakfast yet, though."

"You have breakfast after you get dressed, you know that."

"I know, I'm just pretty hungry." They both chuckled softly as Gerard took the hint and got himself out of bed to make his way downstairs and into the kitchen to prepare breakfast while Lindsey helped Bandit get ready for school.

"Mommy, daddy made a new friend yesterday and I got to play with his puppy!" Bandit suddenly blurted out to Lindsey, bouncing around with excitement on the bed. Gerard froze, let out a soft sigh while closing his eyes...he then slowly turned himself around to find Lindsey looking over at him with a look of surprise resting on her face.

"Oh? What new friend?"

"His name is Frank and he's Italian. He called me little princess in Italian, too."

"Gee, is this true?"

"...yeah, it is."

"Why didn't you tell me about your new friend?"

"I was going to, but then B came into the room and...I was going to tell you." Gerard's heart was thumping away erratically inside of his chest now, he felt lightheaded and slightly queasy, now.

"He was nice, mommy. Frank bought me ice cream, too."

"Well, isn't that nice of him. Where'd you meet Frank, Gerard?"

"...The Hotel Café...I went there yesterday a little while after you took B to school and made your way to the art gallery. I had my usual cup of coffee and read some poetry books...then I heard someone performing onstage—it sounded really, really good and I decided to meet him and tell him personally that he was good up on the stage and...next thing I knew we were sitting down at a table to talk and get to know one another. He was really nice and funny..." Lindsey remained quiet as she listened to Gerard. Bandit was quiet too as she clung onto her Robin plushie.

"Was he good-looking?" She blurted out, making Gerard's heart skip a beat and he was pretty sure he was blushing.

"He was...charming, I'll admit that. Frank was a friendly guy and...he invited me to perform some songs onstage with him...on Friday. I told Frank I did a little singing back in the day and he wants me to sing while he plays the guitar at the café with him..." The room fell silent...Lindsey remained silent. Her face was normal; her face was calm...Gerard couldn't tell if she was angry, or upset...it was hard for him to tell exactly what she was feeling, sometimes.

"Okay, babe. That sounds nice." Was all Lindsey responded with, smiling a small smile before getting herself out of bed—grabbing a hold of their young daughter's hand in hers, they made their way out of the bedroom...she even leaned forward to place a kiss against Gerard's cheek before taking Bandit to her room to help her get dressed.

He thought he was imagining things; his mind playing tricks on him or something—Gerard stood there, completely frozen and dumbfounded...that was a lot easier than expected. He was completely shocked how how she reacted.

Once Bandit was dressed up and ready for school, they all sat down and ate breakfast together as a family. Lindsey was taking her to school again since she had to run more errands at her job at the art gallery—Gerard hugged and kissed them both goodbye and was once again left at home, alone.

He made sure he finished his new comic; even colored it all, and decided to even sketch out some ideas for future references...he tried to keep himself busy before deciding to text Frank to inform him about performing music with him at the café.

Part of Gerard wanted to completely avoid Frank...he kept thinking about the wet dream he had about him. To hear him wooing him in Italian...staring into his eyes with his beautiful, large, shining, hazel eyes; how the colors of both leaf green and light umber intertwined in his irises, surrounding his pupils...even his dark eyelashes were long and curly. The vivid feeling of his warm and soft lips against his as he kissed him...it was obvious Frank was into him. Gerard wasn't dumb. The flirting; his charming personality; the way he wooed him in both Italian and French...Gerard found himself wanting to speak with him. He found himself wanting to see him...at the same time, it wasn't right when he was feeling...what he was thinking.

Instead of deciding to text Frank to let him know that he accepted his offer...Gerard decided to get in his car, drive over to the park where he took Bandit yesterday, and he drove his car into the neighborhood where Frank told him he lived...he didn't know Frank's address or which house he lived in, but he decided to try and attempt to find him. He couldn't avoid Frank forever...even if he wanted to, Gerard found himself wanting to be with him. Frank was like a drug; he got one taste...and he found himself slowly becoming addicted.

He found a house that pretty much gave away that Frank lived there once he noticed the flag of Italy hanging outside of the house; moving lightly with the slight breeze blowing in the air. The house was one-story, painted black, the front lawn had the greenest grass he'd ever seen...there was a stone walkway leading to the front door and some potted plants outside the front door, as well.

Gerard parked his car outside of the house...staring at it as he breathed hard and heavily...his hands were gripping onto the steering wheel of his car as his heart was beating erratically inside of his chest. 'This is crazy', 'this is stupid', 'what am I doing here...?' He thought to himself as he finally turned off the engine of his car, unbuckled his seatbelt, and gathered up the courage to get out of his car and walked over towards the front door of the house he hoped was Frank's house, otherwise he'd look crazy. Crazy and desperate. Gerard ran his hand through his short, walnut brown, soft hair—fixing it as he adjusted his clothes; straightening them out, clearing his throat...he took a deep inhale and rang the doorbell. He heard barking coming from inside the house—remembering Frank's puppy, Lois.

"Tutto bene, calmati." The minute Gerard heard the Italian, his heart felt like it was about to stop beating and he'd drop dead right there. The door unlocked, swung open, and there he was...Frank opened the door widely and Gerard's cheeks flushed bright ruby red when he saw that Frank was shirtless.

He was slim; averagely built; toned biceps...and his entire torso was covered in tattoos. Both his arms, all the way down to his hands were inked.

"Gerard, buongiorno. Che piacevole sorpresa." Frank greeted him, smiling his beautiful and sweet smile over at him...Lois paced her way past Frank and out the door to greet Gerard by jumping on him, demanding pets as she wagged her tail excitedly—her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"...uhh...hey, Frank."

"Hello, Gerard. How did you know where I lived?"

"You mentioned your lived around the park I took Bandit to yesterday and...well, I wanted to come to you in person to tell you that I accept your offer. I'll perform with you on Friday at The Hotel Café."

"Meraviglioso! What good news you bring to me. Je suis content d'entendre." His smile grew bigger and wider as he showed off his teeth. Gerard's cheeks were stained crimson still as he avoided eye contact with Frank.

"Do you want to come in? I was about to practice playing some songs to perform at the café—la pratique rend parfait." Gerard's eyes wandered from Frank's eyes, down to his bare and tattooed chest...his cheeks reddened to a darker shade than before and his heart was going crazy as it continued beating hard and heavy.

"...okay. Yeah, sure..." Gerard responded, still avoiding eye contact with the handsome, Italian musician before making his way inside of Frank's house. 'This is really fucking stupid...but I'm glad I'm here.' Gerard thought to himself as he tried to push aside any strange and unusual thoughts he had directed at Frank and tried to focus on practicing music with him...'strictly business' he kept telling himself. Seeing Frank shirtless though didn't exactly help.


	5. The Visit

Once Gerard made his way inside of Frank’s house, Frank closing the door behind him and paced his way over to the kitchen.

“I was about to make some coffee, would you like some?” Gerard’s eyes wandered all throughout his home—it was wide, spacious, and decorated quite nicely for a single musician. The house smelled of a pine scented candle burning, and Gerard was impressed by Frank’s guitar collection that hung straight and perfectly on his walls throughout the living room, where a painting of the Eiffel Tower hung above Frank’s large and wide flat screen TV. It looked like he had several more paintings of beautiful sceneries and framed photographs of flowers and nature.

“Sure, coffee sounds nice. Thanks.” Gerard responded as Lois eventually got his attention by jumping up his leg, begging for more pets and head scratches as her little paw reached up for Gerard’s hand.

“Cool guitar selection.” Gerard complemented Frank as he continued petting Lois, who occasionally licked his hand while wagging her tail, happily.

“Je vous remercie.” Gerard understood that part and responded with confidence as a small grin rested on his face.

“Vous êtes les bienvenus.” Though Gerard didn’t see it, Frank raised an eyebrow in surprise as he chuckled softly to himself while preparing the coffee. His soft laughing caught Gerard’s attention as he lifted his head up to look over at him...his heart quickening once more as he gazed upon Frank’s bare and tattooed upper half of his body.

“...what’s so funny?”

“You understand French?”

“No, not really...I took it back in high school, but I don’t remember too much. Just a little.”

“Impressionante.” Frank said in Italian as the right corner of his mouth slowly twisted into a small grin. Gerard felt himself blushing as he fell quiet...after giving enough pets and head scratches to Lois, he stood himself up tall, brushed her fur off his hands and the little bit that rested on his clothes. 

The smell of fresh coffee lingered in the air as Frank poured them both a cup...he even put cream and sugar in it, remembering how Gerard liked his coffee.

“Here.” Frank brought Gerard’s mug of coffee over to him—placing it in his hands. 

“Siediti con me.” Frank spoke in Italian as he hand gestured for Gerard to follow him. Like a lost puppy, Gerard followed Frank over to his couch in the living room...his peridot green eyes staring at all of the tattoos that covered all of Frank’s back.

They sat quietly on couch and sat in silence while occasionally sipping on their coffee...Gerard’s eyes kept wandering from Frank’s bare and tattooed torso, to the guitars that hung on his walls, and to the Eiffel Tower painting.

“...so...” Gerard finally spoke, breaking the awkward and uncomfortable silence, catching Frank’s attention as the handsome Italian man’s bright, hazel eyes shifted over to gaze over at Gerard.

“You’ve really been to France...?” Frank laughed a loud and wholesome laugh—it was goofy and real. Even his cheeks flushed bright ruby red as he laughed at Gerard’s question.

“Uomo divertente! Vous êtes tellement mignon.” Gerard didn’t understand a single word Frank had just said, but he couldn’t help but smirk...he loved hearing him speak both languages. In a way, it was soothing...he wouldn’t admit it either, but he loved how Frank’s low, raspy, and soft-spoken was. It was sexy. And his Italian accent...it made Gerard’s nerves tingle just thinking about it.

“Yes, I’ve been to France. Many times.” He finally answered Gerard’s question, still laughing though it was more of a soft chuckle, now. He was still smiling, too.

“Which parts?”

“I’ve visited Alsace, Grand Est, Burgundy, Corsica, and of course, Paris.” Gerard raised his eyebrows in complete awe...he felt envious but very interested in hearing Frank talk about France.

“Wow...that’s amazing...I bet its beautiful in France.”

“Très beau. Pas aussi beau que toi.” Gerard’s eyes moved from the Eiffel Tower painting back to Frank.

“...not as beautiful as...me...?” Frank’s eyes widened in surprise and his smile softened but he wouldn’t stop smiling, overall.

“...oh, my apologies. You did mention you learned a little French back in high school, sì?” 

“Yeah...just a little...”

“You understood me. Forgive me for what I said.” Gerard blushed a light, blossom pink shade...his heart was fluttering away inside of his chest as his eyes wandered all over Frank’s bare chest and stomach—staring at all the tattoos...he looked like a beautiful, rare painting.

“...do you do that often...?”

“Do what?” Gerard raised an eyebrow and let out a soft and awkward chuckle.

“...flirt. Be charming. Talk poetically; call random strangers you meet ‘beautiful’?” Gerard poured out too many questions at once, Frank licked his lips and continued smiling over at him.

“You are beautiful, though. Così bello.” 

“See? You’re doing it, again.” Frank’s smile widened across his face...then he did something that made Gerard feel all flustered as he was sure his cheeks flushed even redder than before; this time, cherry red and it spread from his cheeks to his nose. Frank licked his lips again...then proceeded to bite down on his bottom lip. That’s all it took for Gerard to fall completely limp—the coffee mug slipped out of his hand, which felt like rubber, and the mug still filled with hot coffee fell all over his lap and onto the floor along with the mug.

“Shit! Frank—I’m so sorry...” Gerard didn’t even care that he burned himself as he quickly got up from the couch and tried to find something to clean up the coffee with, feeling beyond embarrassed.

“Maldestro. No worries Gerard, it’s okay.” Frank assured him as he got up from the couch too and moved himself closer to Gerard, helping him with the mug by picking it up from the ground—luckily it didn’t break. 

“Really, I am so sorry...”

“Ti preoccupi troppo.”

“...I’m sorry, I always feel like an idiot—I don’t know what you said...I never learned any Italian.”

“You worry too much, I said. It’s okay, it was an accident.” Frank reassured Gerard for a second time by smiling his beautiful and wide, toothy smile at him.

“Let me at least clean it up, it’s my mess...”

“If you insist. Paper towels are in the kitchen by the microwave.” Gerard’s mind went completely blank; practically on autopilot as his eyes once again stared intensely at all the different tattoos inked onto his skin...he was tempted to touch them, but resisted as he just stared at them, intensely.

“Gerard?”

“...yeah?”

“Paper towels?” Frank repeated himself while still smiling and letting out another soft chuckle.

“Oh...ohh, yeah. Right...where were they, again?”

“In the kitchen by my microwave.” Gerard nodded his head, feeling like an idiot as he stood himself up from Frank’s couch and proceeded to make his way over to his kitchen to retrieve the paper towels. 

Gerard cleaned up his mess in utter silence, feeling completely awkward as he avoided eye contact with Frank who continued to sip on his hot coffee while sitting comfortably on the couch...still shirtless.

“I think I got it all. I’m sorry again...”

“Really Gerard, it’s okay—hai bisogno di rilassarti.” Frank responded with his little grin, chuckling softly through his nostrils. Gerard blushed in embarrassment as he mentally kicked himself—telling himself to stop apologizing over everything...it was much easier said than done though since it was his bad habit to say sorry, a lot.

“Well...I should probably get going—“

“Parti così presto?” Gerard smiled an awkward half grin to himself, again he was unsure of what Frank had said and just shrugged his shoulders.

“I feel...awkward.”

“Why?” Frank asked him as he placed his mug down on his coffee table, still halfway full. Gerard shrugged his shoulders again and completely forgot he spilled his coffee all over his pants...there was a huge soaked stain on his groin area and his cheeks reddened even brighter than before as he softly cursed under his breath while examining the wet and rather large coffee spill.

“I spilled coffee all over myself—all over your floor...I’m just making a fool out of myself...” Frank grinned over at him, slowly shaking his head, he then stood himself up from his couch and proceeded to make his way out of the living room and down the hallway of his house.

“Follow me.” Was all Frank said as he hand gestured for Gerard to follow him to wherever he was going. Gerard didn’t hesitate and followed him, still in puppy mode. Gerard had no idea where Frank was leading him to...his heart raced rapidly inside of his chest when he realized he was leading him to his bedroom.

Without saying anything, keeping his head low; staring at his feet as he continued following Frank...he froze once he stepped inside his bedroom. 

“Take off your pants.” Frank demanded, his accent coming out a bit strong. Gerard’s head snapped up to look at him...both their eyes met. His cheeks were bright ruby red and his eyes were wide...Frank could definitely see that he was blushing.

“...what?” Frank smirked widely, almost smiling a full and toothy smile as he then pointed his finger at Gerard’s coffee soaked pants.

“Take them off, I’ll wash them for you and you can borrow one of my sweatpants.”

“...o-ohh. Right...okay.” Gerard let out a sharp sigh, feeling both relieved and disappointed as he awkwardly ran his trembling hand through his hair—pulling at it lightly while clearing his throat. Frank continued to smirk to himself as he made his way over to his dresser; pulling one drawer open as he began to rummage around through a pair of comfortable sweatpants for Gerard to wear.

“...um...are you sure you have a pair of pants that’ll fit me...? You’re shorter than I am...” Frank snickered, letting out a loud and hearty laugh. His body shook as he laughed and he finally found a pair of sweatpants for Gerard; red, wool, plaid designed.

“Tu es si amusant.” Frank spoke in French as he closed his drawer and made his way back over to Gerard, handing him the neatly folded up pair of pajama pants.

“Thanks...”

“I may be shorter than you, but not by that much. These should fit you. Vesibilità perfetta.” Frank explained, still laughing and smiling—having to catch his breath a few times. 

“Thanks, again...” Gerard thanked him for a second time. Frank nodded his head in response, still smiling at him as he pointed his finger over at the door beside Gerard, onto his left.

“Bathroom. Change and give me your pants, I’ll throw them in the washer.” Gerard stared at the door that was cracked open slightly, then back to Frank. Staring at his bare and tattooed chest all over again...staring at all of his tattoos, admiring them. Frank noticed Gerard was staring and went back to his drawer, opening one and rummaging around for something...Gerard’s eyes were completely glued to the tattoos on Frank’s bare back. His mind snapped back into reality when Frank threw on a shirt over his head—messing up his hair a bit, covering all his tattoos and bareness .

“Meglio?” Frank asked Gerard in Italian, showing off his black band tee of The Beatles. Gerard remained silent, unsure of what Frank had said, he just softly cleared his throat again as he made his way into the bathroom. 

Frank chuckled softly to himself, shaking his head as he sat himself on the edge of his bed, waiting for Gerard to come out.

‘Stupid. So stupid.’ Gerard thought to himself rather harshly as he let out a soft sigh, wanting to smack himself in the forehead for making a scene in front of Frank. Still feeling embarrassed, Gerard just shook his head and began to undo his jeans; unbuttoning and unzipping at the same time, he pulled them off—getting both feet stuck at the very bottom, shaking them off and hoping his socks wouldn’t get caught up in his jeans and pull them off, too. He always hated it when that happened. 

After sliding on Frank’s red plaid sweatpants, he was surprised how soft and comfortable they were. Quickly examining them on him, they fit a bit snug but that was only because Gerard’s thighs were slightly thicker than Frank’s, who had skinny little chicken legs. Overall though, they were nice and they’d do just fine.

After taking a deep breath and collecting himself, Gerard made his way out of Frank’s bathroom with his dirty jeans in his hands. He was surprised when he saw that Frank was still in his bedroom...sitting on his bed. Waiting for him. Frank lifted his head up from his phone, smiling over at him...his smile would be the death of him.

“Were you waiting for me...?” Gerard asked him, chuckling softly as his cheeks remained red.

“Sì, ti ho aspettato.” Frank replied; his Italian coming out smoothly and naturally...still grinning that cheeky little grin across his handsome face. Gerard was convinced that Frank was fully aware that he was flirting with him; checking him out; giving him butterflies in his stomach...but, he liked it. He wouldn’t admit it, but...Gerard liked the way Frank made him feel, pushing aside the guilt that slowly began to grow inside of him—like a seed growing into a plant.

“...um...ohh, yeah—here...” Gerard nearly forgot that his dirty jeans were resting in his hands. Blushing in embarrassment still and avoiding direct eye contact with the handsome, tattooed, Italian man—Gerard cleared his throat softly as he handed them to Frank.

“Je nettoierai ça.” Frank spoke in French as he winked over at Gerard before standing himself up from off his bed and made his way out of his bedroom. Gerard followed behind him while still occasionally touching the soft and comfortable fabric of Frank’s red, plaid sweatpants.

“Gerard, my music room is to your left, down the hall.” Frank said as he pointed his finger to his far left down the hallway in his house. Gerard was silent as his eyes looked down the empty hallway...it was long and narrow and it looked much longer than it actually was. Without asking any questions, Gerard just nodded his head in response and awkwardly made his way down the hall and to Frank’s music room.

The door was cracked open...Gerard peeked through it before slowly pushing the door open; the soft creaking echoed throughout the hallway as his eyes gazed upon Frank’s music room. He had even more guitars hanging on the walls, resting in their stands around the room, there was even a drum set, a keyboard set up, and a microphone stand directly in the front of all the instruments with a microphone set in place. His room was wide and spacious—the blank spaces on his walls were decorated with band posters from classic, to modern, to popular. Random pieces of art hung perfectly in place...Frank definitely had a better music room than Gerard did, but to be fair, his was more of an art room.

“Wow...” Gerard said to himself as his eyes wandered all around the room, examining all the different instruments...he was impressed. Gerard even noticed that Frank had a very nice vinyl record collection. His collection was in the far back; resting in the large, wide, and bulky shelves...they were even arranged alphabetically...Frank had all sorts of different music—different genres, though most were in the rock category, different artists, different eras...Gerard found himself pulling out several vinyl albums; examining them with wide and curious eyes as his mouth hung open.

“Ti piace la mia collezione?” Gerard gasped out loudly, nearly jumping out of his own skin, his heart went from his chest to his throat as he quickly turned himself around—clutching onto the handfuls of vinyl albums with both trembling hands...his eyes were wider and Frank could see the bright green in them as the sunlight shining through the windows in his music room rested on them. 

“Mi dispiace, non volevo spaventarti...” Frank apologized to him in a soft spoken and sympathetic manner and tone, chuckling softly while running his tattooed hand through his hair, slicking it back while softly clearing his throat. Gerard let out a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes for a brief moment to catch his breath...taking a deep breath in while slowly shaking his head, Gerard let out a soft chuckle before opening his eyes.

“Shit, you scared me...”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

“No, no—you’re fine...just got distracted by your music collection...”

“You like it?” Frank asked him again, in English this time while smirking over at him. 

“I wouldn’t really know, I see you have loads of albums and records—but your taste may be different from mine.” Gerard then examined the vinyl record albums he had in his hands; Black Sabbath, Led Zepplin, AC/DC, Metallica...Frank was a fan of classic and hard rock. Definitely a metal head.

“Wow...do you own a lot of classic rock records?” Frank’s smirk grew into a half smile as he nodded his head in response, pacing over to his collection—standing next to Gerard, and fishing through more albums.

“I’ve always been a fan of this kind of music, even when I was still living in Italy—“ Frank continued searching for a specific album.

“Even when I didn’t know English, I would listen to all these bands and singers every single day—learned to play guitar when I was around ten, and I would practice playing these songs. Eventually I learned a few English words and sentences because of the music.” Frank continued smiling his half smile as he pulled out a vinyl record of The Misfits, showing it to Gerard. Gerard couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure joy and excitement resting on Frank’s handsome face, making his large hazel eyes shine brightly.

“Favorite band?”

“Oh sì, certo. I love them—I got to see them live in concert at some point. They toured in Italy and it was a dream come true. Davvero magnifico.”

“Wow...that must’ve been amazing. Seeing your favorite band, live.” Frank was still smiling, nodding his head in agreement as his beautiful and big eyes reverted back to the vinyl record of The Misfits.

“Put it on.”

“Come, scusa?” Gerard chuckled softly before repeating himself once more, clearing his throat while trying to keep cool.

“Play it. I want to hear a song from them. Please?”

“Really? Dici sul serio?” Frank responded happily, looking rather excited as he bounced around—pacing over to his vinyl record player; carefully taking out the large and floppy vinyl disc and popping it in before placing the needle over it.

He turned up the volume loudly...his heart began to race inside of his chest when the song began to play.

‘I got something to say

I killed your baby today

And it doesn't matter much to me

As long as it's dead’

Frank lip synced along to the song he’s heard over a million times or more as he bobbed his head along with the rhythm and melody, even dancing a little.

‘Well I got something to say

I raped your mother today

And it doesn't matter much to me

As long as she spread’

The song continued to play as Frank continued to dance, lip sync, and bob his head to the music...letting it consume him and take over his soul. Gerard giggled softly; smiling a small yet toothy smile over at him as he watched Frank go wild.

“Gerard! Dance with me!” Frank yelled over the music—hand gesturing for Gerard to join him.

“What?” Gerard said, unable to make out what Frank had just said and the music continued blasting, loudly.

‘Sweet lovely death

I am waiting for your breath

Come sweet death, one last caress’

“Balla con me, bellissima! Sois sauvage et libre!” Frank yelled back at Gerard, over the music, and still dancing along with the music. Gerard was still unable to understand what he had said, but he was still entertained watching him.

Without saying another word Frank danced over towards Gerard, grabbed a hold of his hand in his, pulling him towards him—their bodies almost crashing into one another. Gerard was blushing bright red on his beautiful and angelic face, and his bright green eyes shining like peridots as he looked into Frank’s eyes.

‘Go, sweet lovely death

I am waiting for your breath

Come sweet death, one last caress

Well, I got something to say

I killed your baby today

And it doesn't matter much to me

As long as it's dead’

Frank placed both of his hands down against Gerard’s shoulders; standing him up straightly in front of him as he ran both of his tattooed hands down Gerard’s arms, grabbing onto both of his hands—squeezing them softly but firmly before making him move along with him to the music that continued blasting all throughout the music room.

“C’mon—dance with me, Gerard!” Frank said once more before placing one of Gerard’s hands down against his shoulder, then grabbing onto his other one and placing it down against his hip.

“Frank—what are you doing?”

“Just relax and feel the music. Here—“ Frank then wrapped one of his toned and tattooed arms around Gerard’s waist; pulling his body closer against his until they practically pressed against each other...Gerard’s breath got caught in his throat as he stared directly at Frank’s face. Frank then began to move of the both of them along to the music...his free hand moving around in the air.

‘Sweet lovely death

I am waiting for your breath

Come sweet death

One last caress

One last caress, sweet death

One last caress, sweet death’

For a while Gerard was stiff as Frank continued dancing for the both of them...Gerard was extremely flustered as he continued staring into the handsome, Italian man’s mesmerizing eyes...they looked more Olive green with the light shining in them.

Eventually, Gerard smiled over at him and began to move his body along with Frank.

“Sentite la musica...” Frank spoke softly in Italian as he then playfully wrapped both arms around Gerard’s waist—spinning him around, making him laugh out loudly as a huge smile, making Frank laugh and smile along with him. The music began to soften and fade as the song came to its end...by the end of the song, they’d stop spinning and dancing...both were panting hard for a breath of air while still holding onto one another.

“...never heard that song before...I liked it. It was fun.” Gerard admitted in between breaths. Frank’s smile grew even bigger as it widened—ear to ear, showing off his perfect pearly whites.

“I like you.” Frank finally spoke...Gerard’s smile softened as it shrunk a little. His heart was racing rapidly inside of his chest as he immediately moved away from him, straightened himself up, and cleared his throat.

“...I like you too, Frank. You’re fun.” Gerard awkwardly ran his hand through his hair as another Misfits song began to play. Frank paced over to the vinyl record player once more and turned off the music. 

“Well...guess we should get to practicing?” Frank suggested, still smiling over at him.

“Yeah...though, I’m not sure what we’re practicing exactly—like, which song.”

“Since it’ll be your first time performing with me, how about we cover a song?” 

“Cover a song...?”

“Tu as raison. I usually perform one of my original songs but you don’t know any of my songs. So let’s cover one. Ti va bene?”

“...sure. Yeah, sure. Okay.”

“Facciamo pratica, allora.” Frank responded, smiling over at Gerard as he made his way over to grab one of his guitars, sitting himself down on one of the stools.

“Come over here, stand by the microphone.” Gerard walked over to the microphone, standing in front of it.

“Uhh...which song should we practice covering...?”

“Whatever song you’d like. Pick a song you know. I know tons of music and different types of genres and artists.”

“Really...? Okay. Cool.” Gerard said as he grabbed onto the microphone with one hand, and placed the other down against the microphone stand. Frank strummed a few guitar strings—tuning it until it sounded just right.

“So, pick a song?”

“Do you know the song ‘Just Like Heaven’ by The Cure?” 

“Adoro quella canzone. One of my favorites! Perfetto.” Frank seemed both happy and impressed with Gerard’s song of choice.

“...you first. Then I’ll join.” Gerard suggested, feeling rather anxious as he gripped onto the microphone, clearing his throat as Frank began to play the intro of the song on his guitar; getting the melody and rhythm right. Gerard took a deep breath as he licked his lips and prepared himself to sing...worried that he’d embarrass himself in front of Frank. But he tried to have confidence in himself.

“Ready when you are, Gerard.” Frank said to him, winking over at him while smirking. Gerard exhaled out, slowly and sharply...he closed his eyes for a brief moment to gather up his courage as he continued squeezing onto the microphone stand. 

Finally, he slowly opened his eyes and grabbed onto the microphone; bringing it close to his lips.

‘Here goes nothing...’ He thought to himself before singing into the microphone while Frank continued strumming away on his guitar—filling the room with music.


	6. Heated

After practicing covering several different songs, Frank was extremely impressed by Gerard’s voice; his voice was beautiful and in his opinion, Frank though Gerard was the better singer.

“Here you go—pants are clean and dry.” Frank said as he properly folded them up after taking them out of the dryer once they finished cleaning, handing them over to Gerard.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” Gerard made his way back into Frank’s bathroom in his bedroom, changed out of Frank’s pajama pants—changing back into his jeans. Once he made his way out, he had the red, plaid designed, pajama pants folded up in his hands.

“Thanks for letting me borrow them.” Gerard thanked him as he handed him back his pajama pants.

“Prego.” Frank responded, smiling a small smile over at him as he took the pajama pants out of Gerard’s hands...his soft fingertips softly grazing across his skin—sending shivers down Gerard’s spine.

“So, which song should we perform this Friday at the café?”

“Uh...I’m not sure—we practiced quite a few.”

“I think you sang ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis pretty well. You have a beautiful voice.” Gerard blushed, feeling flustered as he shrugged it off.

“I’ll let you know once I’ve made up my mind. I gotta get going though—gotta pick up my daughter in half an hour...oh, shit—“ Gerard realized he’d left his cell phone in his car parked outside of Frank’s house and practically jolted out of Frank’s sight; out of his house, and paced to retrieve it. 

‘15 missed calls from Lindsey  ❣️ ’

‘2 voicemails from Lindsey  ❣️ ’

‘7 unread text messages from Lindsey  ❣️ ,2 unread text messages from Mikey  😎 ’

“Fuck...” Gerard mumbled to himself as he played the voicemails from his wife.

“Gerard, where the hell are you? I’ve been calling you nonstop, are you okay? Listen, I think we need to have a talk about your new friend, Frank. You just met the guy and he wants you to perform music with him this Friday? Did you forget we had dinner plans with Mikey, who’s in town? I can’t believe you agreed to do something without giving it any thought.” She sounded calm but her tone was aggressive and Gerard let out a soft sigh as he continued listening to her message; bickering, nagging, and pretty much calling him impulsive and irresponsible. The second voicemail from her wasn’t any better.

“Fine, go ahead and ignore me and perform with your new buddy, I tried to talk to you but you want to act childish and avoid me, instead.” The second voicemail was much shorter but it was enough said. Gerard tossed his phone into the passenger seat as he nearly slammed his forehead against the steering wheel, trying to collect himself while remaining calm.

“Ça va?” Frank’s voice startled Gerard as he nearly jumped out of his seat on the drivers side, gasping loudly while his hands clutched onto the steering wheel.

“Sorry...didn’t mean to scare you, again.”

“No, it’s fine...just...” Gerard stopped himself in mid sentence, letting out a loud sigh.

“Que s’est-il passé?” Frank asked him in perfect French. Gerard smirked for a moment as he shook his head in disbelief. Lindsey was clearly pissed and he had no clue on how to explain to her the truth without her flipping out even more.

“What happened...?” Frank asked Gerard as he leaned against the car door as one tattooed hand held onto the top of the car.

“My wife...she tried to call me; tried to text me...but I left my phone in my car. She’s pissed at me now and I don’t know what to say.”

“Just call her and tell her the truth, then apologize. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“You don’t get it, Frank.” Gerard said as he turned his head to look over at him, he almost looked like he was frowning—feeling rather frustrated with the fact that Lindsey was mad at him and that Frank kept so chill and calm about it.

“You’re not married, you don’t even have a girlfriend—I can’t just tell her why I didn’t answer her calls and then apologize. It isn’t that easy.” Frank listened, but he raised an eyebrow as his mouth scrunched up in the left corner of his face; making a small, pouted frown.

“Perdonami, le mie scuse.” Frank said, remained silent as he softly chewed on his bottom lip, one eyebrow still raised.

“...I don’t know what to do...” Gerard whined, now feeling stressed out as he ran his hand through his short, thick, soft, walnut brown hair—grabbing a handful of it and lightly pulling at it while exhaling sharply through his nostrils.

“Call her.” Frank suggested, keeping his cool and calm manner.

“Frank—I can’t just call her...”

“Perche’ no?” Feeling more frustrated, sighing out a loud sigh of annoyance as he began to frown, Gerard’s phone began to ring next to him on the empty passenger side. Gerard nearly jumped out of his skin again as he let out a loud gasp, cursing out. It was Lindsey. He didn’t hesitate to answer on the first ring as he hesitantly brought the phone to his ears.

“Lynz—“

“Do you know how many times I’ve tried calling you? How many text messages I sent you? Why didn’t you answer any of them? I was so fucking worried!” Frank could hear Lindsey yelling at Gerard through the phone as she continued to ask away a numerous amount of questions at once.

“Babe, listen—“

“Where are you? Are you at Frank’s?” He froze as his mouth hung open—his breath got caught in his throat as his heart thumped away rapidly inside of his chest...Lindsey wasn’t quiet for long on the other line.

“You are, aren’t you?”

“...Lynz, what’s the big deal—“

“What’s the big deal? Gerard, I’ve been trying to reach you and you purposely avoided my calls because you were to busy hanging out with Frank—“

“That isn’t what happened—I accidentally left my phone in the car, I didn’t purposely avoid your calls...”

“So you admit you’re at Frank’s?”

“Oh, my God—yes, Lindsey, yes! I was at Frank’s house practicing for our performance this Friday. And no, I didn’t forget that my own brother was in town and that we made plans with him. Fucking sue me.” Frank kept quiet as he stood himself up straight outside of Gerard’s car, crossing both his tattooed arms across his chest while holding his head down and softly clearing his throat.

“You don’t even know this guy and you’re still planning on performing with him—“

“Yes, I am. I made a new friend, that’s so fucking horrible for you? You make new friends practically ever fucking day and you go out with them—why can’t I have friends and hang out with them?” He began to raise his voice at her through the phone and Lindsey fell silent as she listened to her husband rant.

“I came by to tell Frank I was able to perform with him—he invited me in, we had coffee, and I accidentally spilled some on my jeans. He offered to wash them and he let me borrow one of his sweatpants as he washed my jeans for me—while waiting we practiced covering some songs and we hung out while doing so. I was leaving now to pick up Bandit from school.” Frank raised both his naturally thin, perfect, and dark eyebrows as he kept his head low...he’s never heard someone speak so fast in all of his life.

“...Gerard, listen—“

“I gotta go—gotta pick up my daughter.” Gerard didn’t hesitate to hang up the phone after saying that as he tossed it over to the passenger side, again. There was an awkward and uncomfortable moment of silence that lingered between the both of them as Gerard tried to breathe and calm himself down...his face felt hot as his heart raced.

“...sorry you had to hear that.” Gerard apologized to Frank without turning to look over at him.

“Va tutto bene, non preoccuparti. No reason to apologize.” Frank responded, grinning a half grin over at Gerard as he tried to lighten the mood.

“...I’ve really got to go. I’ll text you later about the performance, okay?”

“Okay. Take care, Gerard. Dio ti benedica.” Frank said as he closed Gerard’s car door for him and walked over to the sidewalk outside of his home. He stood there with both hands in his pockets as Gerard placed the key in the car ignition; starting the engine as he buckled his seatbelt in and turned on the car radio—messing around with the button as he skipped through several different radio stations until finally settling on one he liked. 

Gerard let out a soft sigh as he turned his head to look over at Frank who still stood on the sidewalk. He waved over at him, Frank smiled and waved his hand back at him...blowing him a small kiss as he winked over at him and turned his back to make his way back inside his house. 

Gerard drove with the music playing softly in the background over to Bandit’s school, where he found parents already parked outside of it, waiting for their children, too.

As he waited for Bandit, Gerard hung out on his phone for a bit—texting Mikey while waiting for school to be out. 

Mikey  😎 :

“Hey Gerard, what’s up?”

“Wanna hang out tonight? Just you and me?”

Mikey  😎 :

“I thought we were gonna hang out tomorrow at the café? And I’m having dinner with you and Lindsey later tomorrow night, right?”

“Well yeah, but I’ve decided I wanted to hang out with you tonight, too. C’mon, we haven’t had brotherly time in a while.”

Mikey  😎 :

“Okay, okay. Sounds like a plan. What time?”

“How about seven-thirty?”

Mikey  😎 :

“Sounds good. I’ll pick you up—see you later.”

“Later, dork.” Gerard smirked to himself, feeling a little more relieved as he thought about what he and his younger kid brother could do later that night; go to the movies? Grab a bite to eat? Get high together and go bowling? Go for a drive and check out the city from afar? Anything sounded better than having to deal with Lindsey when she came home from work. He wasn’t in the mood for her to interrogate him and ask him a million questions...Gerard didn’t do anything wrong.

School was out less than ten minutes later. Some parents greeted their kids outside the school while others walked over to the school bus; loading it up till it was full, or walked over to their parent’s or guardian’s car. 

Gerard waited outside of his car, his arms crossed over his chest until he saw Bandit pacing her way over towards him. He smiled at her and waved both his hands over at her, making her smile a big, wide, toothy smile as she ran over to jump into his arms—hugging him tightly while kissing his cheek.

He drove her home, helped her with her homework, played with her for a bit and let her watch cartoons while making her dinner. He gave her a bath and got her ready for bed—reading her a bedtime story and tucking her in before getting himself ready to go out with Mikey.

“I love you, monkey.” Gerard said as he placed a loving kiss against his young daughter’s forehead.

“I love you too, daddy.” Bandit replied as she smiled up at him, her large and dark brown eyes shining up at him.

“You got Robin?” He asked her. Bandit continued smiling as she squeezed onto her Robin plushie in her tiny, thin arms. He smiled down at her while letting out a soft chuckle.

“Good. Get some sleep, okay? Sweet dreams, baby.” He said as he softly caressed her soft, pale white cheek. He turned on her nightlight before turning off her bedroom light and slowly closing the door.

His phone rang as he gathered up his outfit for the night before hopping in the shower. It was Lindsey, again. He let out a soft sigh, ignoring her call as he made his way into the bathroom.

After his shower, he changed into his going out outfit; a dark grey Metallica t-shirt, an olive green military designed button up shirt over it, tight fitting and ripped denim jeans, and black chucks.

His phone rang again as he brushed his hair, running his hand through it—messing it up slightly to make it look more natural. He let out a loud groan in annoyance, assuming it was Lindsey, again. It was Mikey.

“Hey, Mikey.”

“I’m here, outside your house. You ready?”

“Yup, I’ll meet you outside.” He hung up his phone, slid it into the pocket of his jeans, and grabbed both his wallet and house keys as he made his way downstairs and to the front door. 

Once he opened the door he found his wife about to unlock it with her house key...he froze as they made direct eye contact with one another. It was awkwardly quiet between them as Lindsey was the first to break eye contact with her husband, moving her long dark hair behind her ear.

“Where are you going?”

“Out with Mikey. Bandit is in bed—helped her with her homework, made dinner; leftovers are in the fridge for you, and I gave her a bath.” And without saying another word, Gerard walked past Lindsey—out of the front door and out of the house as he made his way over to his brother’s car.

“Gerard, wait!” Lindsey called out to her husband as she turned to look at him. He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

“What?”

“...nothing...hope you have a good time with Mikey.”

“Me, too.” Gerard turned away from her and continued walking over to Mikey’s car, climbing into the passenger seat after swinging the car door open. Lindsey watched them drive off down the road and into the darkness that grew darker as the sun had set and the mood began to rise in the rich, royal blue sky above them. She had tears in her eyes as she let out a soft sigh and made her way inside the house.


	7. Drunk

“Hey, you okay?” Mikey asked Gerard once he got into Mikey’s car—sitting himself down in the passenger seat, clicking putting on his seatbelt.

“I’m fine, let’s go.” Gerard said as he rolled down the car window, throwing his arms out of it to tangle against the car door—he always loved feeling the cool breeze blow against him during car rides.

“Did I miss something...?” Mikey asked him as he began to drive his car forward on the road.

“I don’t wanna talk about it—can’t we just have a good time tonight? Please?” Gerard pleaded as he leaned his head back against the car seat. Mikey could easily tell his older brother was irritated and moody, so he remained quiet as his eyes focused driving down the road.

They decided to go out to dinner, go bowling afterwards, and check out the nearest comic book store. 

“So, what’s up?” 

“Hmm?” Gerard asked him as he took a sip from his alcohol beverage; something tall, sweet, and fruity.

“First off, take it easy—“ Mikey said as he reached his arm over across the table at the sit down restaurant they were going to eat at, grabbed onto Gerard’s arm; lowering the drink.

“Secondly, just take it slow. Take your time and tell me what happened between you and Lindsey.”

“Nothing.” Mikey raised an eyebrow while softly scoffing under his breath.

“Gerard, you’re my brother. I know you better than anyone...it looked like you two were fighting or something.” Gerard shrugged his shoulders as he took another sip from his drink—downing mouthfuls through his straw.

“Yeah, we had a fight. Big deal.”

“You guys hardly ever fight—“

“Ha, sure.” Gerard snorted as he raised both of his eyebrows, softly shaking his head.

“What happened?” Before Gerard was about to explain everything to Mikey, the waiter came back with their food, hot and ready. 

“So wait, you met a random, Italian guy at The Hotel Café?”

“Yup. While he was performing—I was having some coffee and reading a poetry book.”

“And you spoke to him after he was done performing?” Gerard nodded his head as he finished the rest of his drink, ordering himself a second one.

“Gerard, take it easy—“

“I’m fine. I admired his singing and wanted to give him a compliment. He was super nice and really easy to talk to—so we ended up hanging out for a bit and we talked some more.”

“Why would Lindsey be mad over that?” Mikey asked as he took a bite from his cheeseburger along with a few fries, dipping them in ketchup.

“Because she doesn’t like me having friends, that’s why.” Gerard answered rather harshly as he aggressively cut into his chicken breast—practically stabbing into it with his knife.

“...what do you mean?”

“I told Frank that I could sing; that I used to sing before Lynz and I got together—he invited me to perform on stage with him this Friday and I figured why not? So I accepted. I hung out with Frank for the first time yesterday and we practiced covering some songs together. I left my phone in my car and apparently Lindsey tried calling me but couldn’t reach me and she got pissed at me because she thought I was ignoring her and she didn’t like me hanging out with Frank.” Mikey was speechless...his pale, white face was blank as his mouth hung open, unsure of what to say.

“...fuck.” Was all Mikey mumbled out, making Gerard chuckle out softly as he nodded his head in response as he took another long sip from his sweet, fruity, alcoholic drink.

“She doesn’t trust me. Lindsey can have a bunch of friends and hang out with them, but I can’t even have one.”

“I’m sure that isn’t the case—“

“Yes it is. Because I wanna spend time with a someone I befriended, she gets mad at the thought of me doing anything without her...I’m sick of it.” Gerard ate his food fast; roughly forking the thick, cut up pieces of his chicken while scooping up some mashed potatoes.

“Well, it isn’t a little quick that you’re gonna perform on stage with some dude you just met, but I don’t see the problem with making new friends and hanging out with them.” Gerard scoffed while rolling his eyes in annoyance.

“Anyone you make friends with are strangers; even people you meet to go out on dates with. We’re all strangers and you talk to them, then hang out with them...that’s how it works.”

“Okay, okay—relax.” Gerard dropped his silverware against the plate; the loud cluttering of his fork and knife falling onto it startled Mikey. Gerard downed the rest of his second drink like it was water, quickly.

“Can we go...? I wanna bowl. Take my mind off things...”

“We just got our food—“

“We’ll take it to go. Please?” Mikey let out a soft sigh, nodding his head in response as he got them two to-go boxes, payed the bill, left a tip and they left to go bowling at the nearest bowling alley.

They payed for three games and were given their bowling shoes. Gerard ordered them a pitcher of beer while they bowled—occasionally making small talk and making jokes to make one another laugh...Gerard drank until he began to feel a little buzzed...Mikey worried for him because it had been a long while since Gerard drank. He didn’t want him to go overboard with the drinking and do something stupid he’ll regret the following day.

“This is fun—I’m havin’ fun.” Gerard smiled over at Mikey after he drunkly threw his bowling ball, managing to bowl a strike; knocking all the bowling pins down.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Oh yeah—super duper.” Gerard giggled, his pale white cheeks reddening into a bright, cherry red shade.

“You sure...?” 

“Yeah, course lil’ bro.” Gerard said as he wrapped his arm around Mikey’s shoulder—roughly patting him on his back, almost making him fall forward.

“You’re drunk, Gee.” 

“Nah—I just feel good.” Gerard said as he took another drink from his cup, nearly emptying it.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to handle the comic book store afterwards?”

“Hell yeah! You know I’d never turn down comics.” 

“If you say so...no more drinking though, okay? You’ve had enough.”

“Sure thing, mom.” Gerard giggled loudly as he playfully ruffled Mikey’s hair, messing it up. After they bowled all their games, Mikey drove them to the nearest comic book shop, where they roamed around for a while—reading some comics in silence while debating whether or not to buy some.

Gerard’s head felt heavy, his vision was slightly blurry, and everything around him sounded distorted.

While reading a comic he was super into, Gerard’s phone went off his in pocket. It was a text message. He took out his phone from the pocket of his jeans and saw that he received a text from Frank.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Gerard, stai bene?” He reread the text several times, smiling to himself as he felt his heart racing inside of his chest. 

“Hi, Frank.” Gerard replied, typing so fast that he messed up several times—having to take it slow and delete what he typed, retyping it altogether.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Ciao, bellezza, come stai?”

“I have no clue what you’re saying, but I hope you’re well.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Sì. How are you?”

“Drunk. But better than I was earlier...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Drunk, huh? Cosi’ vulnerabile.  😉 ” Gerard giggled softly as he began to think about Frank, shirtless. He thought about all of his tattoos...his toned biceps, his handsome face, and his beautiful eyes.

“I miss you, wish you were here hanging out with me and my brother, Mikey.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“You’re out? Where?”

“At a comic book store. I had dinner with Mikey—then we went bowling. Now we’re at a comic book store.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Je te retrouve. We can hang out some more, I’m free.” 

“Really...? I thought you’d be bored of me—we already hung out this morning...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“I could never be bored of you. I enjoyed spending time with you.  ❤️ ”

“Me, too...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Tell me where you are and I’ll meet you. L’adresse, s’il vous plaît?” Gerard’s face was burning up as his cheeks were stained rouge. He gave Frank the location of where he and Mikey were and was super giggly—it was hard for him to keep his mouth shut about it.

“What’s up with you?” Mikey asked Gerard as he noticed him waltzing his way over towards him with a handful of comics he wanted to buy. Mikey was in the middle of reading a comic, too.

“Nothin’. Found some comics?”

“Uhh yeah, I found a few. How about you?”

“Yup!” Gerard said as he waved around the comics he wanted around in the air. They continued checking out more comics; skimming through some while making more small talk with one another—Gerard tried to buy some time as he impatiently waited for Frank. 

“Hey, I’m going to go to the bathroom really quickly. I’m ready to go—will you pay for the comics? I’ll pay you back.” 

“Yeah, okay...sure.” Gerard said as he nodded his head in response as Mikey handed him his comics; piling them on top of his before making his way to the bathroom located in the back.

As Gerard stumbled his way over to the cashier to pay for the comics, someone bumped into him.

“Shit—sorry...”

“Its okay, sono goffa.” 

“Oh, hi Frank!” Gerard smiled over at him after quickly realizing who it was. Frank chuckled softly over at him as he helped Gerard stand himself up tall in front of him.

“You good?” Frank asked him as he held him close against him.

“Better now.” Gerard replied, smiling a huge and toothy smile at Frank while blushing.

“Here, let me help you with these.” Frank said as he grabbed the stock of comic books out of Gerard’s hands, placing them down on the counter—paying for them, even though Gerard argued with him not to. Frank didn’t listen and was stubborn as he did the exact opposite.

“Wanna get outta here?” Gerard slurred at Frank as he grabbed onto the comic books, taking them off the counter.

“Didn’t you say you came here with your brother...?”

“Yeah, so...? I wanna get outta here—Mikey has the car. Pleeeaaassse?” Frank chuckled softly, finding drunk Gerard, plain adorable.

“Okay, okay. Ti spacco il mondo.” Frank winked over at Gerard as he wrapped an arm around Gerard’s arm, and guided him out of the comic store. Gerard clutched onto all the comic books tightly in his hands as Frank walked him over to his car. He even opened the car door and held it open for Gerard.

“Dopo di te, bellissima.” Gerard bit down on his bottom lip as he let out a soft giggle—his cheeks were still super bright red as Frank helped him into the passenger seat.

“Do you like dancing?”

“Hmm...?”

“Dancing. Do you like it?” Frank asked him as he got into the drivers side of his car, starting it up, and driving it away from the comic book store; driving it down the road...leaving Mikey behind.

“...uhh, I’ve never been dancing, before.”

“No?” Gerard shook his head no. Frank smirked over at him as his large, bright, hazel eyes reverted to the road.

“Ti aspetta un dolcetto.” Frank said as his eyes were still focused on the road. Gerard had no idea what the beautiful and handsome Italian man had said, but he could feel that familiar tingling sensation build up in his stomach—like butterflies were fluttering around inside of it.

He had no idea where Frank was taking them, but he was just happy to be with him...he didn’t even feel guilty. Not even a little.


	8. Attraction

During the drive, Gerard sat comfortably in the passenger side of Frank’s car and read his comic books; his eyes completely glued to each individual page.

“What’re you reading?” Frank noticed he was reading when he turned to look over at Gerard for a brief moment to check on him. 

“Hmm...?” Gerard turned his head over at Frank, his vision was still somewhat blurry and his head felt heavy. Frank chuckled softly as he pointed his finger over at Gerard’s comic in his hands.

“That—cosa stai leggendo?”

“Ohh—Spider-Man.” Gerard replied as he closed the comic for a second without losing his page, showing off the familiar and rather popular Marvel superhero on the front cover with the bold and bright title ‘The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man’ above the character.

“E’ una figata.” Frank replied, still smiling over at Gerard as he continued to drive down the road, passing by different cars while the radio played classic rock softly on the car radio and the cool air conditioning blew against Gerard’s slightly dampened face...he was burning up and he knew it was from the alcohol.

“You like Spider-Man?”

“I think he’s pretty rad, sì.”

“Have you ever read any of the comics?”

“No, but I’ve seen the films.” 

“Did you watch them in Italian or French?” Frank adored Gerard’s slurring of his words, he was still obviously buzzed.

“English, actually.” Gerard smirked over at Frank while raising an eyebrow. Frank’s smile grew across his face, showing off his perfect, pearly whites.

“I know English and speak it perfectly well, I just have an accent is all.”

“I like your accent.” Gerard admitted, blushing to himself as he bit down on his tongue, still looking over at Frank.

“Mi piace la tua faccia.” Gerard let out a soft groan as he lowered his eyebrows while pouting.

“What?” Frank asked him once he noticed he was pouting, chuckling to himself at the cute little pout resting on Gerard’s beautiful face.

“I wish I knew Italian. I should’ve considering I am part Italian...”

“Davvero? Anche tu sei italiano?”

“English, please—I’m sorry, I’m drunk...” Gerard mumbled out as he blinked hard and rubbed his temples. Frank let out another chuckle as he continued smiling over at Gerard.

“You’re Italian, too?” Gerard nodded his head in response as his eyes reverted back to Frank.

“Italian and Scottish. My brother and I never learned any other languages though...I mean, I took French in high school like I mentioned—I know a little Spanish, but that’s about it...”

“Yo también sé español.” Frank suddenly spoke in fluent Spanish; every word was pronounced perfectly and he even rolled his R’s and had the Spanish accent.

“...wait, you speak Spanish, too!?” Gerard was unaware he raised his voice and Frank started laughing a loud and goofy laugh as his smile remained unchanged.

“Only a little, I know there’s lots of Hispanic people in California so I figured why not learn it? Sé un poco.” Gerard was completely amazed with Frank and his ability to learn so many different languages...he was impressed.

“Well, I bet Spanish is easy peasy for you—its a lot like Italian, right?”

“Certain words and pronunciations are similar, and it can sound the same. Stessa differenza.” 

“I think that’s sexy...” Gerard’s eyes widened as he closed his mouth shut and covered his mouth with his hand...he couldn’t believe he just said that out loud.

“Je te trouve sexy...” Frank responded in French—knowing how that language always makes Gerard quiver at the sound of it. Always. Gerard was pretty sure Frank just gave him a compliment and he was unsure on how to respond as he softly cleared his throat and went back to reading more of his Spider-Man comic.

The rest of the drive was quiet, the only sounds were coming from the car radio that continued to play classic rock...Gerard occasionally peeked over at Frank while reading his comic. Frank’s short, dark, thick hair was combed neatly and styled in a trendy, popular way; several long strands of his bangs fell over his face...Gerard stared at the scorpion tattoo resting on the right side of Frank’s neck. He stared at that tattoo a lot.

“We’re here.” Frank announced as he drove his car into a packed parking lot outside of what looked like a nightclub.

“Where are we...?”

“I asked you if you liked to dance, didn’t I?”

“...are we really dancing?” Frank turned off his car engine once he found an empty parking spot, unbuckled his seatbelt and looked over at Gerard—smirking over at him as he slowly leaned forward, bringing his face closer towards Gerard’s...he reached his tattooed hand over and unbuckled him out of the passenger seat.

“Vis un peu. La nuit est jeune et nous vieillissons.” Frank replied in French, winking over at Gerard as he placed his tattooed hand on top of his leg...Gerard tensed up at his touch but remained silent as his heart raced inside of his chest. 

“Fidati di me.” Frank said as he softly squeezed onto Gerard’s leg before pulling it away and stepping out of the car. Gerard’s phone started to ring inside the pocket of his jeans and he let out a loud gasp, startled at the sudden and loud sound. It was Mikey.

“Shit...” Gerard mumbled under his breath as he answered. Frank opened the door on the passenger side of his car and Gerard looked over at him, holding his hand up as a way of telling him to hang on a second.

“Gee—where the hell did you go? I was in the bathroom for less than five minutes and you disappear!”

“Sorry Mikey, I met up with a friend and I’m hanging out with him, now.”

“So you ditched me without telling me?”

“I’m not a fuckin’ child, Mikey—I’m fine, I promise.”

“You scared the shit out of me, I thought someone kidnapped you or something...” Mikey sounded a bit more relieved but still annoyed.

“I’m sorry I ditched—I totally forgot I was hanging with you—“

“You’re drunk, you shouldn’t be out and you should be home—“

“I don’t wanna go home, I’m mad at my wife.”

“So what? Just sleep it off on the couch then—“

“You’re not the boss of me, quit controlling me—you sound like Lindsey.” Frank raised his eyebrows while biting down on his bottom lip...this was the second time he’s witnessed the aggressive side of Gerard while on the phone with someone but he didn’t say anything.

“Gee—I’m looking out for you. If I didn’t care I wouldn’t bother...you’ve had a lot to drink and you’re not thinking straight. You should go home.”

“I’ll go home when I’m ready—I wanna hang out and be free for once...”

“Who are you even with?”

“Mind your own business—“

“Its that Frank guy, isn’t it?” Gerard fell quiet for a second before scoffing loudly while rolling his eyes.

“You too, huh?”

“I didn’t say anything—“

“No, but you’re fuckin’ judging me. I’m allowed to have fun, too.” Gerard hung up his phone call with Mikey and shoved his phone back into his pocket—frowning to himself as he pouted in the passenger seat.

“You okay?” Frank’s low, soft, raspy voice spoke...his accent coming out smoothly, making goosebumps appear on Gerard’s skin.

“Yeah...I’m peachy. Help me out...?” Gerard asked Frank, looking up at him with his stunning, jaded green eyes...his long, dark, curly eyelashes were beautiful and they made his eyes look more irresistible to look away from.

Frank smirked down at him as he held his hand out to him. Gerard didn’t hesitate to place his hand in Frank’s before stepping out of the passenger seat of his car—stumbling over towards Frank, nearly falling into his arms.

“Ti tengo...” Frank whispered into Gerard’s ear, making him blush cherry red on his cheeks as his face felt warm...his eyes locking with Frank’s and his heart continued to beat rapidly inside of his chest—hearing it in his ears.

“You’re so sweet...since we first met. I might just kiss you for being so nice to me—“ Unexpectedly, Frank tightened his grip around Gerard’s waist as he leaned his face forward, roughly pressing his lips against his.

Gerard’s eyes were wide open but he didn’t pull away as he felt Frank’s soft and warm lips kiss him...the kiss was long and tender as he kissed him, again. When he pulled away, Gerard stood there in front of him with his mouth hung open and his bright, green eyes were widened with shock.

“...umm...okay...wow...” Gerard mumbled out as he licked his lips, blinking hard as he covered his face with both hands, unsure of what was reality anymore.

“I’m sorry...e’ stato scortese da parte mia...” Frank apologized as he too licked his lips while softly clearing his throat, running his hand through his hair.

“...did you just kiss me...?”

“I did.”

“...why?”

“Non è ovvio...? I like you. Very much.”

“...I like you too, Frank. This is all so sudden, though...”

“I’ve never met anyone else like you before, though. When I’m not with you, you’re all I think about...my feelings for you are strong.” Gerard wasn’t that drunk and he knew for certain that everything Frank was telling him was reality and he didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. He didn’t expect it to happen at all, really.

“...I’m married...” Gerard said, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. His eyes staring down at his left hand; his left ring finger...staring at the gold wedding band around it...Frank grabbed a hold of his hand in his, lightly brushing his thumb over Gerard’s cool, soft skin, making him lift up his head to look him in the eyes.

“Are you happy?” 

“...yes.” Frank raised an eyebrow as he brushed his finger against Gerard’s wedding ring.

“Tu es malheureuse.”

“...I’m not unhappy...” Gerard responded, saddened by what Frank had said because he understood it. Sad because he wasn’t exactly wrong but he couldn’t keep pretending, anymore.

“You let me kiss you.”

“It was unexpected—“

“Yes, it was. You wanted me to kiss you...that’s why you mentioned it.”

“It was a joke...” Frank smirked over at Gerard while still holding his hand in his before reaching his other hand out to gently caress Gerard’s soft and smooth cheek with the back of his tattooed hand.

“Joke or not, you let me...I know you’re married. But you’re unhappy. You wanted to spend more time with me...and I came at your demands.” Gerard fell quiet as he was at a loss for words; unable to think of anything to say to defend himself with.

“Let’s not let this spoil our night. Dance with me, okay...?”

“...I don’t know...”

“Please, Gerard...resta con me.” Frank pleaded while still holding his hand in his. Gerard was totally bewitched by Frank; his good looks, his charms, his voice, his smile, his eyes...and his kiss...it was sweeter than honey and his lips were soft to the touch—the kind of kiss you want to be showered with. He liked it.

“...okay. Just let me know if you’re gonna kiss me like that again, okay...?”

“Do you want me to kiss you more?” Frank asked while chuckling, raising an eyebrow, and even blushing a soft pink shade on his cheeks.

“...maybe. Depends on what’ll happen in there—“ Gerard said as he pointed his finger at the nightclub they were still not inside of.

“Let’s find out, then. Que le plaisir commence.” Gerard smiled over at Frank as Frank held his hand in his, squeezing onto it, and guiding them over to the entrance of the nightclub.


	9. Live Freely

Inside of the nightclub was loud, crowded, and...flashy. There was loud, techno, rave music playing all throughout inside the nightclub—bright, strobing, and flashing lights lighted the darkness.

“Frank—I can’t see anything!” Gerard yelled over the music, though it didn’t help because he couldn’t even hear himself as the rave music continued blasting through the speakers.

“Seguitemi e state vicini!” Frank yelled back at Gerard as he squeezed his hand in his—guiding them over to the bar area. Gerard’s eyes wandered around inside the nightclub, staring at the light show that was in sync with the loud, techno music...he was quite intrigued with the bright and colorful lights. Once they pushed themselves through the large crowd of people, Frank turned to look over at Gerard, smirking over at him.

“Do you want a drink?” 

“What!?” Frank laughed and leaned forward to speak in his ear.

“I asked if you wanted a drink.”

“...oh. Yeah, sure.” Gerard responded, Frank smiled at him and placed a kiss against his cheek—making him blush, again. Frank ordered two whiskey sours; one for him and one for Gerard.

“Alla notte di avventura. Salute.” Gerard smiled a small smile over at Frank as they clinked their glasses against one another and downed them like water.

“Ooohh—shit...” Gerard chuckled out as he squeezed his eyes shut, letting the alcohol burn the back of his throat...Frank ordered them more drinks—the second round were apple martinis.

They sat together at the bar area for a while, drinking their drinks without really saying much...Frank kept getting handsy with Gerard; placing his hand on his thigh, rubbing it slowly while placing soft kisses against Gerard’s cheek.

“Mmm...feels nice...” Gerard was even more drunk now but he was feeling really good and relaxed. Frank whispered in both Italian and French in his ear—making goosebumps appear all throughout his skin...he didn’t mind it at all. He didn’t stop Frank from touching him and kissing him.

“Wanna dance?” Frank asked him, his lips pressed against Gerard’s ear—playfully nipping at it, making him giggle at the feeling. He nodded his head in response and Frank grabbed a hold of his hand in his...lead them to the dance floor. Gerard began to notice a certain pattern of the people he’s been seeing all throughout the nightclub. There were mainly men at this club...a few women were seen, but they were making out with each other if not touching one another.

“Frank—is this a gay bar...?”

“E’ un problema?”

“I’m not gay—“ Frank interrupted him by kissing him; crashing his lips against Gerard’s, kissing him hungrily and he kissed back.

“Not gay, huh?” Frank said after pulling his lips away from Gerard’s...smirking at him while licking his lips.

“Shut up...”

“Tu es si mignon.” Frank spoke in French as he wrapped both his arms around Gerard’s waist—pulling him close against his body; feeling up on him while squeezing his ass with both hands.

They both danced together to the loud, raving, techno music blasting through the speakers...the lights continued to strobe and flash. Frank was buzzed and Gerard was drunk; his vision was blurry and his head felt heavy, he had to rest his head down against Frank’s shoulder. 

He wasn’t used to doing things like this—going out and partying...he didn’t care about Lindsey during his time with Frank. He wasn’t bothered by Frank kissing him, touching him, flirting with him...either he was drunk, or caught up in the moment, but he was having a blast. 

Gerard definitely wasn’t used to the music or the scenery but it was the most fun he’s had in years...he felt free with Frank and he felt like he was really himself.

They danced along to several more songs playing through the speakers...they were both sweaty from all the movements, their hearts were racing inside of their chests, and Frank kept kissing Gerard during each song that played. Things got so heated between them that Frank led Gerard to the bathroom to make out inside one of the bathroom stalls...the loud muffling sound of the techno music was heard through the music walls—Gerard could feel the vibrations of the music against him as his back was pressed against the wall where Frank had him pinned and cornered as both of his tattooed hands rested on the sides of Gerard’s face, kissing him passionately while their tongues swirled around in each other’s mouths.

Letting out soft moans of pure pleasure occasionally, Frank pulled away and began placing kisses against Gerard’s neck; nipping at it softly while touching him...Gerard bit down on his bottom lip as he felt an aching and throbbing sensation building up in his jeans...he let out a soft gasp when Frank placed his hand over it; lightly squeezing it before rubbing Gerard’s growing erection through his pants.

“Frank...” Gerard softly called out his name as he grabbed Frank by his coat—tugging at it while letting out another moan, biting down on his bottom lip.

“Sei dura...Lo sento.” Frank spoke in a soft, smooth, seductive tone as he continued rubbing Gerard’s cock through the thick fabric of his jeans—growing harder with each passing second.

“We shouldn’t—“

“I want to...”

“I do too, but not here...” It was hard to resist and just give in, but Frank’s kisses were addictive; each kiss made Gerard want more and he touched him the way he’s never been touched before...not even by Lindsey. 

“Mi stai torturando...” Frank breathed out into Gerard’s ear before licking it, sending shivers down his spine. 

“I’m sorry—I just...”

“Want it to be perfect...?” Frank answered for him as he continued touching him. Gerard nodded his head yes slowly in response, blushing bright red while letting out another moan.

“I don’t think you want me to stop, though...you’re so hard...”

“I don’t want you to stop, no...”

“Let me at least take care of you...” Frank said as he began to mess with Gerard’s jeans by unbuttoning and unzipping them...he slid his hand inside of his pants and inside of Gerard’s boxers—lightly grabbing a hold of his hard cock with his tattooed hand, slowly moving his hand up and down his shaft—making Gerard’s eyes roll in the back of his head as his mouth hung open, letting out more moans as he tugged on Frank’s coat.

“Oh fuck—oh, my God...Frank...” He called out his name softly and breathy—loving the ecstatic feeling take over his body, making his nerves feel all jittery like they were vibrating...his face was scorching hot and sweat ran down his face.

“Does this feel good...?”

“God, yes...so fucking good...” Frank smirked to himself as he then got down on his knees in front of Gerard, grabbing a hold of his pants with both hands; lowering them along with his boxers—freeing him. 

Frank grabbed a hold of Gerard’s dick with one hand, looking up at him with his puppy, bright, rounded, hazel eyes...kissing the lip while licking up his hard shaft before taking him into his mouth. Gerard let out a loud moan that echoed all throughout the men’s bathroom, hoping nobody else would come in...Frank bobbed his head up and down, swallowing Gerard whole as he felt him in the back of his throat...Frank’s eyes sealed shut as he gagged softly, bringing his head all the way down on Gerard’s hard cock.

“Fuck...!” Gerard squeaked out as he grabbed a handful of Frank’s hair in his hand, pulling on it while bucking his hips, pushing himself deeper down Frank’s throat, making the tattooed and handsome Italian man gag again as tears spilled down his cheeks. He pulled away to catch his breath—couching out loudly several times while wiping away his own tears...he even had to wipe his mouth because of all the drool.

“Your cock is huge...” Frank said in between breaths and coughs, making Gerard grin down at him as he too had to catch his breath...Frank didn’t hesitate to go back to pleasuring Gerard by sucking on his dick a little while longer before stroking him off.

“...shit...oh, fuck...”

“Tu es trop belle...ça me rend folle...” Frank purred out softly as he continued to pump his hand up and down Gerard’s hard cock at a quick pace.

“Frank—I’m gonna cum...fuck, I’m gonna cum...”

“Bien, je veux que tu cum...” He spoke once more before wrapping his lips around Gerard’s dick, again.

Gerard continued calling out his name, over and over, as he pulled at Frank’s hair—making him moan against him as he sucked him off...the pit of Gerard’s stomach felt like he had butterflies fluttering around in them and a warm sensation began to take over his body. 

“Ohh fuuuccck...!” Gerard yelled out, no longer caring if anyone else was in the bathroom; no longer caring if anyone else heard them...he came inside of Frank’s mouth, hard. 

He could taste him in the back of his throat...Frank pulled away from Gerard’s cum soaked dick, not hesitating to swallow it—wiping away the rest that rested on his chin.

“...fuck...oh wow...” Gerard mumbled out while catching his breath—feeling exhausted now as his heart continued racing inside of his chest...Frank smirked up at him once more before helping him pull his boxers and pants back on.

“Sei fantastico, Gerard.” Frank whispered in Gerard’s ear before placing a soft and sweet kiss against his cheek.

“...w-what about you...?”

“What about me...?”

“You need to be taken care of, too...” Frank chuckled softly through his nostrils, slowly shaking his head no in response.

“I’ll be fine—another time.”

“But—“ Frank softly shushed him by pressing his finger against Gerard’s soft, moistened lips.

“Another time. Trust me.” Frank replied, winking at him. Gerard just slowly nodded his head in response.

“Sei così bella...” Frank said as he gently caressed Gerard’s rosy, sweaty cheek.

“Not as beautiful as you...” Gerard replied back, making Frank smile back before they kissed one another one last time.

“...what do you wanna do, now?”

“Whatever you want.”

“...I’m pretty tired now, actually...”

“I’ll drive you home—“

“No...don’t wanna go home. Can I stay at your place tonight...? Please?”

“What about Bandit?” Gerard immediately felt a huge wave of guilt smash against him...he nearly forgot about his own daughter who was sleeping peacefully in her bed at home...and Lindsey...was she even awake? Even if she was, she must’ve cried until there were no more tears to shed. At the same time though, Gerard didn’t want to leave Frank. He wasn’t sure how to feel anymore.

“...you can drive me back home first thing tomorrow morning...if you want.”

“Are you sure...?” Gerard nodded his head in response as he leaned forward and rested his head down against Frank’s shoulder, again.

“Okay, okay—puoi stare con me, stanotte.” Frank said as he held Gerard close, lightly patting his back while placing a kiss against his sweaty forehead.

“Let’s go.” Frank whispered into Gerard’s ear as he wrapped an arm around his waist and walked him out of the bathroom and out of the nightclub...by the time they went back to Frank’s car, and Gerard was sitting down in the passenger seat, he passed out in a heartbeat.


	10. One Time Thing

In a deep state of sleep, Frank brought him back at his place to stay the night. Gerard slept on throughout the entire car drive—he snored softly as his mouth hung open slightly...Frank thought he was adorable while he slept in the passenger seat, peacefully.

Frank helped Gerard out of the car and the passenger seat once he parked his car in the driveway outside of his house; he held his body close against him with one of his arms wrapped around his neck, having to drag him inside—bringing Gerard to his bedroom and carefully lying him down flat on his back on his bed.

He helped Gerard out of his coat and jeans to sleep more comfortably, even taking off his shoes before moving his legs up on the bed, covering his body with his blanket. Frank gently caressed Gerard’s cheek as he smiled down at him, leaned forward, and placed a gentle and sweet kiss against his forehead.

“Buonanotte, bellissima. Sogni d’oro.” Frank whispered softly at him, not wanting to wake him before getting ready for bed, himself. After taking a cold shower and brushing his teeth, changing into a pair of pajamas—he checked on Gerard once more before going to his living room to sleep on his couch. Gerard hadn’t budged all night as he slept the deepest he’s ever slept in a long, long time.

That night he dreamt about Lindsey and Bandit...he dreamt about when they got married—how much younger they were; how in love they felt towards one another; how happy they used to be...she looked beautiful that day, even more so than usual. Her dark brown eyes shined brightly and her smile was enormous...she was so happy. 

Gerard then dreamt about when Lindsey was pregnant with Bandit; her belly big and round, the way Bandit would kick from the inside every time Gerard placed his hand down against it. He remembers placing soft and sweet little kisses down on his wife’s pregnant belly...he wondered what happened between them. They used to be so happy.

The sun began to rise behind the mountains in California as a new day arrived—the weather was calm and beautiful; the sky went from a dark, velvet blue color to a bright, soft light blue shade—several small, pinkish-orange colored clouds were scattered all across the sky as the sun continued to rise, brightening up the city and making the ocean look as if it were sparkling from a distance.

Gerard continued snoring softly while his face was buried in Frank’s pillow on his very comfortable, queen sized bed...Lois was already awake before both Gerard and Frank as she wandered around the house—trying to wake up her owner, who was sleeping deeply on his couch. She then wandered over to his bedroom, finding Gerard sleeping in Frank’s bed and she proceeded by jumping up on the bed, he didn’t even budge, and she sniffed Gerard before licking his face.

She licked his face several good licks while pawing at his back, trying to wake Gerard up.

“...mmm...” Gerard groaned out softly and sleepily as he turned his head on Frank’s pillow, wiping away Lois’s drool off his face. Lois whimpered softly as she sniffed him again before letting out a soft, little puppy bark—making Gerard jump as his eyes shot open and he lifted his head off the pillow. 

His head felt heavy as his ears rung...his eyes felt dry and irritated as he blinked hard and let out a low groan of discomfort...his stomach felt queasy and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he then remembered he didn’t come home last night.

“...oh, fuck...” Gerard mumbled softly as he quickly got out of bed and tried to look for his cellphone, hoping he didn’t lose it. Lois wagged her tail happily as she let out another bark at Gerard—panting hard and heavily as she playfully pounced and spun around on the bed.

“Shh—be quiet...” Gerard softly shushed Lois as he continued looking for his phone. He found his jacket, jeans, and shoes scattered on the floor beside Frank’s bed—quickly kneeling down to grab his pants, he felt the heavy weight inside one of the pockets of his jeans and found his phone. It was still alive and halfway charged since he didn’t charge it last night.

He had several missed calls from Mikey, two missed calls from Lindsey as well as a voicemail, and several unread text messages from Mikey. As he changed back into his jeans before putting his shoes and jacket back on as he called Mikey.

“Gee?”

“Yeah—hi...”

“Good, you didn’t get murdered.”

“Shut up...” Gerard sounded grumpy, groggy, and hungover.

“Are you home?”

“No, but I’m heading home now...”

“Where’d did you sleep last night? Did you even sleep?”

“Yes, Michael. I spent the night at Frank’s.”

“Your Italian friend?”

“No, the other one.” Gerard replied as he rolled his eyes, feeling annoyed as he sat himself down on Frank’s bed again, feeling lightheaded and nauseous as he rubbed his temples.

“I talked to Lindsey last night—she called me at some point and she sounded distressed...Gee, I know you guys had a fight but please call your wife. She’s worried about you.” Gerard didn’t say anything, but he felt bad...he was still mad at her, but he also felt extremely guilty.

“...have you heard from B...?”

“Lindsey had to go to work early today, so she asked me to take B to school and I did. She seemed sad—pretty quiet in the car...she kept asking for you.” Gerard could see his daughter’s face in his mind; clear as crystal...she looked so much like Lindsey and he hated seeing her sad. He hated knowing she was sad because of him.

“...I fucked up.”

“No you didn’t—couples fight. Some fights are bad, but I know you guys. You’ll make up. Just go home, okay? And I’ll come by to see you both, later.”

“...okay.” Gerard didn’t have the stomach to mention to Mikey about what happened last night. He was drunk; the drunkest he’s been in years...he slipped and he felt ashamed. Not about kissing Frank or receiving a blowjob from him in a men’s bathroom at a gay nightclub...but because he fought with his wife and made both her and Bandit sad. 

“Gee, you know I love you, right?”

“Yeah...”

“I didn’t mean to piss you off last night. Hell, you should be the one apologizing to me for ditching me at the comic book store last night to hang out with your friend. But I’m over it...just go home.”

“...you didn’t tell Lynz about me going out with Frank, did you?”

“No. I’m sure she already figured that out, but no. It isn’t my business.” Gerard’s stomach felt like it was twisting into tight knots; bile built up in the back of his throat, and his eyes felt like they were tearing up.

“I’ll be home, soon. Thanks for looking out for me...”

“You’re my brother, dork. I’ll always look out for you.” Gerard chuckled softly as his vision blurred with his own tears...a single tear ran down his cheek, quickly wiping it away.

“Love you, Mikey.”

“Love you too, Gee. Be safe.” Gerard hung up his call with Mikey, sitting still and quietly on Frank’s bed with Lois laying her head down on his lap...her tail continued to wag happily as Gerard smiled down at her as he pet the top of her head, gently.

He finally got off of Frank’s bed with Lois jumping off of it, following him from behind. Gerard sluggishly walking into the living room, finding the couch empty and slightly messed up—the pillow and blanket still rested on it.

“...Frank?” Gerard called out his name as his eyes wandered around, hoping to find him.

“Gerard—I’m in the kitchen.” He heard his voice coming from the kitchen...his heart was racing and he didn’t know if he could face him or not.

“Buongiorno, bellissima.” Frank greeted him with his charming and gorgeous smile, and his enormous, hazel eyes shined brightly as the sunlight shined in them; they looked leafy green mostly but there was a little golden honey surrounding his pupils.

“Hey...” Gerard greeted back, awkwardly waving his hand at Frank—avoiding direct eye contact with him.

“I made coffee. Do you like omelettes?” He asked as he stirred eggs inside of a bowl. 

“Uhh—I’ve gotta go, actually...remember I said I’d go home first thing in the morning...?”

“Oh, I know—I just thought you’d like a little breakfast before you went home.”

“That’s nice of you Frank, but I really need to go home...” Frank stopped what he was doing—turning his head over to look at Gerard with a look of concern buried in his eyes.

“Are you okay...?”

“...I don’t really know, Frank.”

“Sei arrabbiato...” Frank spoke softly as the smile on his face softened and the brightness in Frank’s eyes seemed to darken.

“I’m sorry Frank, I just have to go home.”

“You feel weird about last night, don’t you...?” It replayed inside of his mind, clear as day; the moment between them—Frank kissing him, touching him...then he got down on his knees in front of him, wrapped his lips around him and tasted him.

“...Frank, listen...I had an amazing time with you last night. I just...I can’t do this...”

“You regret it...?” Frank’s voice was even softer now and he lowered his eyebrows...he looked as if he were frowning.

“I’m married...I’m a father. What happened between us was a one time thing—it was fun, but now I have to go home...” Frank was quiet. The quietest he’s ever been around Gerard.

“Okay, Gerard. Capisco.” Was all he responded with in his soft spoken voice. Gerard felt incredibly guilty...he still avoided eye contact with Frank as he felt more nauseous, his heart was beating rapidly inside of his chest.

“I’m sorry...”

“No, no...you don’t have to apologize. Go home to your wife and daughter. I understand...” Frank forced a smile, though he still looked sad as his beautiful hazel eyes glistened with tears.

“Frank—“

“Addio, Gerard. Stammi bene.” Frank spoke over him before breaking eye contact with him, looking away as he went back to preparing himself breakfast. Feeling like he just went through a breakup, Gerard stood completely still...he froze. His heart was racing; feeling like it was about to burst out of his chest, he let out a soft sigh as his breath got caught in his throat.

“...I am sorry, Frank...truly.” He spoke so softly that his voice was practically silent; he couldn’t even hear himself clearly...Frank didn’t hear him, and he didn’t even turn to look over at him.

“...do you still want me to perform with you, today...?”

“I honestly forgot that was today. À vous de voir.”

“I’ll still perform with you if you want...”

“Probably not a good idea.” Frank responded coldly without looking over at him as he poured the bowl of stirred eggs into the frying pan; the loud sizzle echoed all throughout the kitchen.

“...okay. Well...bye.” Without saying another word, Gerard left Frank’s sight; left the kitchen, walked through his living room with Lois following him from behind. He didn’t look back as he grabbed onto the door handle, swung it I open, and stepped out—closing the front door behind him as he walked away from Frank’s house and neighborhood.

The entire walk home made Gerard emotional as he softly sobbed to himself...he kept his head low as tears spilled down his face. Gerard sniffled softly as he let out loud whimpers while breathing heavily—fishing for his smokes that were in his dress shirt pocket, taking one out and placing it in between his lips while fishing for his lighter that rested inside the other pocket on his dress shirt. Smoking his cigarette while walking home and crying to himself, he eventually arrived home to an empty and quiet house.

He took a hot shower once he came home—proceeding to cry more in the shower. After changing into a clean and comfortable pair of pajamas; a Star Wars t-shirt, Slytherin sweatpants, and his house slippers, Gerard had another cigarette before deciding to keep himself busy working on his artwork in his art room for the entire day.

He surprised Bandit by picking her up from school.

“Daddy!” She exclaimed happily—a huge and wide smile across her beautiful, little face as she ran into his arms; throwing his arms around Gerard’s neck while hopping into his arms as he lifted her up, holding her close and squeezing her tightly.

“I missed you!”

“I missed you too, monkey.”

“Where were you this morning? Uncle Mikey took me to school today cause mommy had to go to work early.”

“I know, B. Your uncle Mikey told me...I was out with a friend, last night.”

“Why?”

“Cause I wanted to get out of the house for a bit.”

“Don’t do that again—I missed you too much.” Gerard chuckled softly while smiling at her, leaning forward to kiss her soft, rosy cheek before helping her into the car and driving them home.

“Hey B, wanna watch a movie while I make your favorite dinner?”

“Homemade macaroni and cheese!?” Bandit gasped out excitedly as she smiled up at him, practically jumping out of her skin.

“That’s right, monkey.”

“What can I watch?”

“Whatever you want, baby. Your choice, tonight.”

“Yaaaay! Thank you, daddy! You’re the best!” Bandit added as she wrapped her little arms around Gerard’s waist while standing on her tippy toes, hugging him tightly. Gerard smiled down at her while hugging her back, gently patting her back.

While Bandit prepared to find a movie for them to watch as he prepared dinner, it was getting later and darker outside...Gerard couldn’t stop thinking about Frank as he remembered he was performing at the café tonight...and he was supposed to be there with him. He decided to text him.

“Frank, I’m sorry I’m not there with you, tonight...I really am. I hope it goes well, I do.” He waited for a response, but didn’t get one.

“Are you mad at me...?” Gerard texted him, again. Again, no response. Feeling his heart ache a little inside of his chest, he didn’t want to bother Frank and stopped texting him.

Gerard and Bandit are their dinner together in the living room while watching Spider-Man. Since it was Friday night and Bandit didn’t have to go to bed early, Gerard let her play some video games while he worked on more of his artwork. 

Lindsey worked late that night—Bandit was completely into her games while Gerard continued to draw; continued to paint...he kept thinking about Frank—occasionally checking his phone to see if he heard anything back from Frank...no such luck. 

Lindsey finally arrived home from work, finding Bandit still awake and playing her video game on the living room couch with several of her stuffed animals sitting on the couch with her.

“Hi, mommy!” Bandit smiled over at her, waving her little hand in the air.

“Hi, baby—still awake, huh?”

“Daddy said I could stay up cause I don’t have school tomorrow.”

“Daddy’s here...?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t he be?”

“Where is he?”

“He’s drawing in his art room.” Lindsey smiled down at her, gently stroking her long, dark hair as she leaned forward to kiss the top of her head.

“Stay here and play your game, okay?”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Bandit replied, giving Lindsey a thumbs up. Lindsey made her way towards Gerard’s art room—opening the door to find him drawing with headphones over his ears. She watched him draw for a bit before deciding to make her way inside...taking a deep breath in, Lindsey approached Gerard from behind, grabbed onto his earphones, and removed them off his ears—making him jump, startling them both.

“Shit—“

“Sorry...” Lindsey apologized to him as she moved her long, black hair behind her ear.

“Sorry for what, exactly...?” Gerard asked his wife as he went back to finishing up his drawing. Lindsey remained quiet as she felt the guilt build up inside of her.

“Gerard, I didn’t come in here to fight...”

“Then what do you want?”

“I want to talk to you...” Gerard let out a soft sigh as he placed his pencil down on top of his drawing and turned in his artist chair to face Lindsey.

“Okay. Let’s talk.”

“Gee—I’m sorry...I’m sorry for overreacting yesterday. For the things I’ve said to you...”

“Okay.”

“No, not okay...Gerard, I’m trying to apologize to you...I got way out of hand and I didn’t mean to act like a crazy bitch who controls you and doesn’t allow you to have your own personal time—“

“Aren’t you?” Gerard interrupted her, talking over her in an aggressive tone and manner while crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re mad. You’re talking out of anger, but I deserve it...” She looked sad, but she tried to remain strong as she looked into her husband’s beautiful, green eyes.

“You’re right, Gerard. I am possessive; I don’t let you have friends and that isn’t fair...I have plenty of friends and you never mind when I go out with them...I shouldn’t expect you to stay home all the time.” Gerard remained quiet as he listened to whatever Lindsey had to say. He was still hurt and upset over what happened between them yesterday, but he wasn’t stubborn enough to not listen.

“I do trust you, baby...I do. Just...I don’t trust other people...I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s the truth. I’m not used to you going out and hanging out with people, anyways...but I shouldn’t stop you if you want to do that. I want you to have friends.” He still remained quiet as he began to think about Frank...about the time they spent together in the short period of time they’ve known one another.

“You really hurt me, Lynz.”

“I know...I’m sorry...” She apologized to him, again. Her voice was soft, sweet sounding, and she had a saddened look resting on her face.

“I hurt you too. I’m the one who should be sorry...”

“We both said things we didn’t mean...I didn’t mean to hurt you.” Lindsey told Gerard as she made her way closer towards him—sitting himself down on his lap while wrapping both her arms around his neck.

“I’m a shit husband.” Gerard claimed as he couldn’t even look Lindsey in her large, walnut shaped, dark brown eyes. All he thought about was Frank while doing so...thinking about the sad look buried in his eyes. He was used to seeing him so cheerful and smiling...and he made him sad. Gerard took away Frank’s smile by hurting him.

“No you’re not, we just had a fight...couples fight.” Lindsey assured her husband as she leaned forward—pressing her forehead against his. She gently stroked his hair with her fingertips; gently massaging his scalp with her average length, black painted fingernails.

“I hurt you...” Gerard said, finally looking his wife in the eye.

“I hurt you, too. I’m sorry...” His eyes closed for a moment...their foreheads still pressed against one another...he began to feel sleepy at the feeling of Lindsey running her fingers through Gerard’s...he always loved it when she did that. When he opened his eyes again, he could see clear as day the face of Frank staring back at him.

He still had that saddened and heartbroken look on his face...tears escaped his beautiful hazel eyes, slowly running down his cheek...Gerard let out a soft gasp as he sealed his eyes shut, again.

“Gee...baby, what’s wrong...?” She asked him, placing both of her hands on the sides of his face—just like how Frank held him as he kissed him for the first time. His eyes opened once more to see his wife’s face staring at him, now.

Gerard was quiet...his mouth opened but no words came out—he needed to tell her what happened between him and Frank; it was the right thing to do...she was his wife. She deserved to know.

“...I’m sorry...” Gerard whimpered out as his bottom lip quivered, let out a soft gasp as tears overflowed inside of his eyes and spilled down his face.

“Gerard...” Lindsey softly called out his name as she softly shushed him, wiped away his tears, and leaned forward to place a soothing and loving kiss against his forehead. 

He hurt the both of them...Lindsey and Frank. He felt sick to his stomach about it, and all he could do was cry.

Gerard hugged Lindsey back; wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close as he squeezed onto her—burying his face in her neck as he wept...his body shook as Lindsey continued to softly shush him while rubbing his back.

“It’s okay...” She whispered to him while comforting him in her arms. He could hear Frank’s voice in his head—speaking loudly, and he could hear his laughter and see his smile...he thought about them kissing, and he daydreamed about Frank touching him...tasting him...and he could smell Lindsey’s sweet perfume, almost tasting it on his tongue.

“Forgive me...” Gerard whimpered out as he continued crying in his wife’s arms.

“Always...as long as you forgive me.”

“I do...I do...” Gerard whimpered out again as he held her tightly.

“Don’t cry...I love you.” He sniffled softly as he lifted his head up from her neck...his tears soaked through her shirt. He sniffled again while wiping away his tears, trying to calm himself down.

“I’m sorry...”

“It’s okay...we’re okay.” Lindsey assured him while she helped him wipe away the rest of his tears. She placed both her hands down against the sides of Gerard’s face again, making him look at her.

She leaned forward to place a sweet and soothing kiss against his lips. He kissed her back while still holding her close against him...Lindsey continued kissing him sweetly as she ran her fingers through his hair—messing it up a bit by lightly tugging at it, making him moan against her lips.

That’s when Gerard’s mind wandered off into the memories of last night with Frank...the clear memory of Frank kissing him against the wall inside the men’s bathroom replayed over and over inside of his head...the softness of his lips against his, the sweet taste of his breath...the way he touched him...it was definitely something Gerard would never forget, no matter how hard he’d try. Finally, he pulled away from Lindsey, breaking their kiss.

“I’m sorry...”

“For what...?” Gerard kicked his lips as he continued holding her close against him.

“I’m not in the mood tonight...my mind is all over the place right now...I’m sorry.” He apologized to her, again.

“It’s okay, babe. I understand...another time.” Instant déjà vu...Frank said the same thing.

“I’ll let you finish up your work, okay...? Come to bed when you’re ready.” Lindsey smiled over at him before kissing his lips, once more. Carefully climbing off of him, she left his art room, leaving him alone with himself and his thoughts.

He sat there in silence...bringing his hand over to his lips; his fingertips gently touching them...thinking about Frank. 

‘It was a one time thing’ he kept telling himself mentally, over and over. He didn’t want to hurt Frank...but he did. He only hoped Frank would come around, again. Hopefully.


	11. Late Night Apologies

Unable to sleep, Gerard pulled an all nighter with his art...Lindsey was asleep with Bandit in her arms. Gerard occasionally checked on them both since he was wide awake; his mind was full of too many thoughts—giving him a headache. He still hadn’t received any texts from Frank and it made his heart ache that much more each time he checked...he knew he hurt him, but he didn’t think Frank would be mad at him. 

After he finished his new project, he stepped outside into his backyard—helped himself to another cigarette; letting the strong, bitter taste of nicotine burn the back of his throat as he inhaled the thick smoke into his lungs...he stared up at the starlit sky above him, wondering what Frank was doing. He didn’t want to keep blowing up his phone with text messages but he needed to hear his voice—apologize and tell him he was sorry...he wondered if that would even make a difference but he needed to try.

“Frank...I’m sorry that I hurt you. My mind is scattered; I can’t think, I can’t eat...my heart aches knowing that I hurt you when I wasn’t trying to...I’m married, but I’m still thinking about you. Please, let me explain...I’m sorry.” Hesitating for a moment, Gerard took a deep breath, held it in, and sent it. He wished he had something stronger than a cigarette...suddenly, his phone began to ring.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸

His eyes widened as his heart nearly jumped into his throat...he answered on the third ring, bringing his phone to his ear.

“Cosa vuoi, Gerard...?” He even sounded sad through the phone; his tone was soft and Gerard could tell he wasn’t smiling.

“Its good to hear your voice...I feel like I haven’t heard it in forever, and it’s only been a day.”

“Why are you texting me? I thought you said what we had was a ‘one time thing’...mi ha buttato via come spazzatura...”

“I know what I said...I was feeling extremely overwhelmed; Frank, I don’t regret what we did...but...I cheated on Lindsey. My wife...the mother of my daughter...I hurt her in the worse way I could ever hurt someone. I felt guilty.”

“So, why are you so desperate to talk to me if you feel guilty?”

“Because I feel guilty for hurting you, too...Frank, I do like you. So much...I wish I met you sooner—before I got married and had a family...”

“Anch’io.” A moment of silence lingered between them for a moment...the awkward silence made Gerard feel queasy as his heart went crazy—beating erratically as his chest moved up and down.

“I really like you, Frank...I felt sad when I said those things to you. And I feel even shittier because I was supposed to perform with you...”

“It’s okay. I managed...”

“I bet you did fine.”

“Ça aurait été mieux avec toi à mes côtés...”

“I’m sorry...”

“Tu t’excuses trop.” Gerard chuckled softly, he could hear Frank laugh softly on the other end.

“You make me crazy...”

“L’amore ci fa impazzire.” Silence lingered between them again...neither of them were quite sure what to say next, but they just didn’t want to listen to the sound of silence any longer. Gerard could hear music playing softly in the background on the other line.

“Is that music I hear?”

“Si’, lo e’.” Gerard tried to get a better sound of it, but it sounded muffled and far away so he couldn’t get a clear sound.

“What is it?” He could hear slight movement on the other line—like Frank was rummaging around or something...Frank brought his phone over to his vinyl record player, held it above it, letting the song play.

‘Spinning on that dizzy edge

Kissed her face and kissed her head

Dreamed of all the different ways, I had to make her glow

Why are you so far away she said

Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you?

That I'm in love with you?’

Gerard could hear it loudly and clearly...the corners of his lips curled into a small smile as his heart began to race rapidly inside of his chest. 

‘You, soft and only, you lost and lonely

You, strange as angels

Dancing in the deepest oceans

Twisting in the water

You're just like a dream

You're just like a dream...’

Frank continued to hold his phone over the music playing through his vinyl record player—making sure Gerard could hear it. He did. Finally he brought the phone back over to his ear, smiling softly to himself as he began to lose himself through the music now, too.

“Cette chanson me rappelle toi.” His voice still managed to give him goosebumps all throughout his skin...that warm, tingling sensation what felt like butterflies fluttering around inside of Gerard’s stomach made him feel all flustered as he blushed a soft shade of pink.

“And I’ve been listening to The Misfits nonstop. I’m starting to see why you love them so much...” He could hear a soft chuckle through the other line; visualizing Frank’s warm, breathtaking smile in his mind—clear as day.

“Hourra pour moi.”

“...Frank?”

“Sì, Gerard?”

“Je t’aime beaucoup vraiment.” It was his turn now to speak French—pausing a few times to make sure he said the right words and pronounced them correctly, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of Frank. It was quiet for a brief moment...Gerard’s throat became dry and it was hard for him to swallow his own saliva.

“Et je suis désolé de t’avoir blessé...Je n’ai jamais voulu te faire de mal.” Frank was quite impressed with how well Gerard spoke French as he raised both of his eyebrows, his smile widening as he listened to Gerard’s sweet words.

“Je sais.” Frank responded softly, still smiling to himself as he began to feel all warm on the inside too, and his heart was pounding.

“Let me make it up to you...?”

“You don’t have to do anything for me. I accept your apology.”

“I wanna do something nice for you...please?”

“Why do you want to do something nice for me?”

“So I could make you smile, again...”

“You already have, sei un uomo pazzo, bellissimo.”

“Please...?” Gerard pleaded with Frank once more, hearing him chuckle softly again...he didn’t want to hurt Frank, again. Ever.

“Okay, okay. What’d you have in mind?”

“I don’t know yet, at the moment...but I’ll think of something for us to do. I’m kinda boring...”

“Per niente. Penso che tu sia divertente.” Gerard felt more relieved at the fact that he and Frank were okay now...though the reality of Frank having to carry that small amount of pain in his heart—the pain received from Gerard, made him feel sad for a brief moment. At the same time...he had to continue lying to Lindsey. Had to continue lying to Bandit...even Mikey. But he knew deep down inside that he wanted Frank; in all of his life his attraction for someone has never been so strong...he wanted Frank, even though he knew it most likely wouldn’t last, he didn’t care.

“Go to bed, Gerard. Le soleil se lèvera bientôt.”

“Okay. Well...goodnight, Frank.”

“Buenas noches, preciosa Gerard.”

“You keep surprising me, you know that? Are there any other languages you speak?”

“Vielleicht.” Frank responded, making Gerard lower his eyebrows as he tried to wrap his mind around what language he’d just spoken.

“...what is that?”

“I’ll tell you next time we see each other. Buonanotte, ora.” Frank laughed softly through the other line...his laugh sent shivers down Gerard spine, making him smile at the sound of it.

“Bye.” He hung up his phone call with Frank before making his way back inside his house. He made his way upstairs, doing his best to not make too much noise and wake both Lindsey and Bandit...he quietly entered his and Lindsey’s bedroom—finding his wife asleep with their daughter snuggled up against her. His heart raced...his mind was whispering harshly, but he drowned them out as he swallowed his guilt; slowly beginning to build up inside of him, he let out a soft sigh as he walked over to his bed, carefully climbing in.

Neither Lindsey or Bandit budged once he was in bed, under the covers, and the back of his head lightly pressing against the pillow. 

He eventually fell asleep and was able to sleep peacefully because he dreamt about Frank that night...dreamt about his handsome face; dreamt about his beautiful smile; dreamt about kissing and touching him...nobody could know. Gerard knew he was risking everything for someone who wasn’t his wife, but he couldn’t lie to himself anymore...he knew someone would get hurt. But he slept like a baby that night—lost in a mindful of Frank Iero...his drug. His addiction.


	12. Small World

Gerard didn’t get much sleep that night since he went to be extremely late. He got in a few hours, but was awoken bright and early from a phone call he received from Mikey at seven in the morning...they didn’t go to dinner last night; he, Lindsey, and Mikey—so they decided to go out to breakfast.

“Hi, uncle Mikey!” Bandit greeted her uncle as she jumped into his arms after walking ahead of her parents into the restaurant—Gerard and Lindsey followed right behind her.

“Hey, B.” Mikey smiled at his niece as he squeezed her tightly into his arms.

“You’re squeezing me too tightly!” She giggled in her uncle’s arms while lightly patting his back.

“Every time I see you, you’re bigger each time. Let me hold you a little while longer before you’re too big for any of us to carry.” Lindsey smiled over at Gerard as they held hands. He returned a small half smile back before she greeted her brother-in-law with a hug.

“Good to see you, Mikey.”

“You too, Lindsey.” Mikey handed Bandit to her, and she put her down on her two feet on the floor.

“Gee, quit acting all mopey and get over here.” Mikey said as he hand gestured for his older brother to come forward to socialize.

“I’m not moping. Good to see you.” Gerard greeted Mikey with a hug—patting each other’s backs before they all sat down at their table, handed their menus, and talked. Bandit was given crayons along with a kiddie menu she could color and whatnot.

“So...you two okay?” Mikey asked both Gerard and Lindsey while taking a sip of his hot mug of coffee after adding cream and sugar into it. Lindsey turned to look over at her husband, as Gerard turned to look over at his wife...she grabbed a hold of his hand with her’s; lightly squeezing onto it...Gerard didn’t squeeze back as he quickly broke eye contact with her.

“Okay with what?” Bandit asked them all as she stopped coloring for a brief moment.

“Nothing, sweetie. Just focus on coloring and I’ll play some tic-tac-toe with you.” Mikey responded, not wanting her to get involved in adult business.

“Okay, uncle Mikey!” Bandit exclaimed, smiling over at him as she put all of her focus back on coloring.

“Yeah, we’re okay.” Gerard replied as he forced a small smile—hoping it would assure Mikey. Luckily it did.

“Hello, I’m Frank. I’ll be your waiter today—“ Gerard’s head snapped over after quickly recognizing his accent. It was too good to be true—like a really good dream you didn’t want to wake up from...he was there. Right in front of him—wearing a waiter’s uniform.

“Are you all ready to order or do you need more time?”

“Hi, Frank!” Bandit greeted him with a bright, wide smile as she waved her little hand up at him. Lindsey raised both her eyebrows as she looked up at Frank, then to Gerard who was staring up at him with wide eyes and his mouth hung open.

“Ciao, principessa.” Frank smiled down at Bandit as he waved his tattooed hand back at her. Mikey noticed everyone was quiet and all looking at Frank...now he put a face to the name and he remained silent as he softly cleared his throat and took another sip of his coffee.

“You’re Frank...?” Lindsey broke the silence as she finally spoke. Frank’s small smile remained unchanged as he nodded his head in response.

“So, you’re a new friend of my husband’s?”

“Sì, è esatto.”

“Piacere di conoscerti, Frank.” Lindsey replied in perfect Italian—one of the many cons of her job, meeting foreign folk and learning new languages. 

Frank raised an eyebrow as his small smile grew wider across his handsome face.

“Parli italiano?”

“Si’ lo so. Ho imparato come.” Gerard was just as surprised hearing his wife speak fluent Italian...he never knew she could. She never spoke any around him.

“Notevole.” Frank said as he slowly nodded his head while still smiling. Mikey still didn’t say a word as he watched everything that was going on...feeling quite interested in it. Bandit was focused on her coloring.

“Bonjour, Gerard.” Frank greeted Gerard, his cheeks rosy and his hazel eyes were bright.

“...hi.” Gerard spoke softly, still staring up at him—confused as to why he was there, and it honestly seemed too good to be true. But he was there.

“You speak French, too?” Lindsey asked, both her eyebrows were raised as she examined Frank’s beautiful features.

“Yes, I know several languages.” He replied in English—his accent coming out smoothly.

“You’re a waiter...?” Gerard asked him, making Frank chuckle softly as he nodded his head again, in response.

“Yes, when I’m not performing music—work a normal job while trying to pursue my career.” He explained while Lindsey continued examining his handsome face—occasionally turning to look over at her husband who was staring at Frank intensely; never looking away, once.

“I’m so sorry—sometimes I talk too much, forgive me. I’ll give you some more time to figure out what you’d like to order. I’ll be back.” Frank assured everyone as he walked away from their table to serve other customers...he left everyone speechless.

“So, that’s your friend?” Lindsey asked Gerard, catching his attention as he turned his gaze upon her...he was quiet but slowly nodded his head without saying a word.

“You were right. He is charming...and quite attractive.” She whispered to him, making his cheeks flush redder as he turn his head away from her.

“This is awkward...should we go...?” Mikey asked them, worried they’d start arguing in front of him. Sometimes they did that and it always made him feel super uncomfortable as he would just stand by them and watch.

“No, why? We’re fine.” Lindsey assured Mikey by smiling at him, placing her hand down on Gerard’s shoulder...neither of them seemed sure on what to say or what to do—Gerard couldn’t tell if she was being serious or calm when actually pissed off.

“Your friend seems nice, babe. Really.” Lindsey said to Gerard while still smiling...somehow everything she was saying didn’t seem to match the vibe he felt...maybe what she had said to him the night before when they had their talk was actually true. Perhaps Lindsey is trying to be open about Gerard having his own freedom; to make friends; to hang out with other people.

Frank came back once they all seemed to settle down, he took their orders, and he and Lindsey often made small talk every time he came around...Gerard was unsure how to feel about it. He had so many questions to ask Frank—he wanted to get to know him a lot better.

“It was really nice talking to you, Frank—I’m sorry I kept you longer than I should’ve.” Lindsey said smiling over at him...that was the most Gerard had ever seen his wife smile in such a long time.

“No worries. It was nice talking to you too—Gerard has told me so much about you. It’s nice to finally see you in person.” Frank’s eyes moved onto Gerard now, smiling at him as he licked his lips...biting down on his bottom lip again, making Gerard’s throat for dry as he took a sip of his orange juice—nearly choking on it.

“Good seeing you too, mon beau ami.” Gerard understood that part and his cheeks were as red as cherries as he stared down at the tiny bits of pancakes he hadn’t finished yet on his plate...Mikey was once again watching the three of them interact with one another as he kept Bandit distracted and preoccupied.

“I better get back to work. Hope you all have a nice day. I’ll talk to you later, Gerard. Addio per ora.” Frank said in Italian as he winked over at him...luckily Lindsey didn’t notice. Frank then looked over at Mikey, giving him a wave, and looked down at Bandit, smiling down at her.

“E’ bello rivederti, principessa.” She giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hands as he cheeks turned a soft shade of pink—feeling all flustered. 

After they left the restaurant after having their breakfast, they spent the rest of the day out for a long drive; doing a little sight seeing, taking a break at the beach where Bandit ran barefoot through the wet, mushy sand as the small waves crashed against her. Lindsey joined her by doing the same thing—holding her tiny hand in her’s as they walked a little further into the ocean...Mikey stayed behind with Gerard, watching them from a distance.

Gerard still couldn’t believe Frank was their waiter at the restaurant...he hadn’t told him he worked as a waiter. It felt like such a small world...it was like no matter where he went, Frank was somehow there. Either he was following him or perhaps it was fate for them to keep bumping into one another...Gerard took that as a sign but tried to keep his shit together since he had to take his secret to his grave.

He reached into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out his small pack of cigarettes—took one out and placed it in his mouth as he offered one to Mikey.

“Want one?”

“Thought you quit?” Mikey asked as he helped himself to one.

“I’ve quit, like, a hundred times.” Mikey chuckled softly as he nodded his head in agreement. Gerard lit Mikey’s cigarette first before his own.

“So, Frank...interesting guy.”

“Interesting how?”

“You didn’t mention how charming and suave he was—how he likes to switch languages while talking and he keeps his attention on you while you speak. I’ve never seen that before in anyone.” Gerard shrugged his shoulders as he didn’t really want to talk about Frank with his brother.

“I guess. He’s just a genuinely nice guy.” Gerard responded as he took a long drag off his cancer stick, tasting the bitter and strong taste of nicotine on his tongue and the back of his throat.

“He and Lindsey seemed to hit it off pretty well, so that’s a good thing.”

“You think...?” Mikey nodded his head in response while taking a drag off his cigarette; blowing the smoke out of his nostrils.

“And B seems to really like him.”

“He’s good with kids...last time I took her to the park, he came around to walk his dog and he let her play with his puppy. He even bought her ice cream when the ice cream truck came around.” Mikey looked over at Gerard, raising an eyebrow.

“What...?”

“Sounds like a pretty nice guy, indeed. You should be careful though.”

“Why’s that?”

“Maybe it was just me but...I feel Frank was openly flirting with you. I feel like he was openly flirting with Lindsey too...like I said, maybe it was just me, but...Frank seems very...flirtatious.” Mikey shrugged his shoulders as he took another drag off his cigarette. 

Gerard remained quiet and didn’t say anything regarding to what Mikey had said...he went back to watching his wife and daughter play with the ocean waves as they held hands...he could hear Bandit’s laughter from the far off distance.


	13. Déjà Vu

After spending the whole day outdoors together, it was starting to get late and Bandit was ended up falling asleep in the backseat of the car. Mikey went back to his hotel room to get sleep since he was pretty tired near the end of the day, too. 

He decided not to talk with his older brother about Frank because it wasn’t his business and he left it alone...Gerard was an adult and could make his own decisions in life. Mikey just had a feeling about Frank since his charming personality was clearly his way of showing he was very much into Gerard.

“I’m gonna put her to bed.” Lindsey spoke softly to Gerard as he held Bandit’s sleeping body in her arms. Gerard just nodded his head as he made his way into the kitchen to find something to drink. He helped himself to a cherry coke, trying not to think about too much but was finding it rather difficult since all that was running through his mind was Frank.

Just as he was taking small sips off his soda, his phone went off inside his pocket.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Ciao, bellezza. Come stai?” Gerard felt his heart flutter around inside of his chest as his lips curled into a small smile, replying to Frank’s text.

“Hi, Frank.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Small world  🌎😂 ”

“Yeah, I know—tell me about it...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Tua moglie è carina. Non e’ bello come te, pero’.  ❤️😘 ”

“How come you didn’t tell me about you being a waiter?”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“My apologies, I didn’t think it was important. I didn’t think you’d care.”

“Of course I care...I would like to know as much about you as possible.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“I’m off work now, so what would you like to know?”

“Not yet—my wife is still awake, she’s putting our daughter to bed.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Mais tu m’as manqué.  ❤️ ”

“I’ll text you when she’s not around, okay?” Gerard then received a photo from Frank through text; the photo was of a selfie—Frank was shirtless...his tattooed chest was bare and he was giving the camera seductive eyes while smirking and biting down on his bottom lip. Gerard felt himself growing aroused inside of his jeans as he let out a soft gasp...he could hear Lindsey coming down the stairs and he quickly turned off his phone screen—shoving the phone back into his pocket.

“She’s out cold. B had so much fun—she had such a long day.” Lindsey said as she walked into the kitchen and rummaged around inside the fridge, helping herself to a cherry coke, too. Gerard was quiet as he downed the rest of the carbonated beverage; it burned the back of his throat and made his eyes teary, nearly choking on it.

“...thirsty?” She asked him, giggling softly while smiling over at him as she opened the can—the loud hiss echoed throughout the kitchen.

“Just...not ready for bed yet.”

“Are you okay...? You seem weird...you’ve been like that since we saw your friend at the restaurant.”

“I...I just wasn’t aware Frank worked there. Threw me off.”

“He didn’t mention it?”

“No, he just told me he sometimes performs at the café...I thought his job was a musician/singer, but I guess not...”

“Well, you two just became friends—you’ll have plenty of time to get to know one another, better.” As Lindsey took a sip of her cola, Gerard’s phone went off inside of his pocket again and his heart began to race even quicker inside of his chest—he could hear it inside of his ears, again.

“You wanna check that?” Gerard shook his head no as he avoided eye contact with Lindsey.

“Gee, are you sure you’re okay...?” She asked him as she placed her can of soda down on the kitchen counter, making her towards Gerard—wrapping both her arms around his waist while looking at him.

“Just got a lot on my mind...”

“Like what?” Gerard bit down on his bottom lip as he shrugged his shoulders. Lindsey was worried Gerard was still mad at her or something, but she remained chill as she leaned forward and placed a kiss against Gerard’s cheek.

“I’m not mad or anything...I was happy to meet your friend. Really.”

“You two hit it off pretty well...”

“You did say he was charming. He seems very polite and easy to talk to.” 

“I guess...” Gerard definitely didn’t want to talk about Frank, the man he started have strong romantic and sexual feelings for, with his wife.

“I’d like to get to know him better—maybe we can be friends too. Invite him over for dinner sometime...” She suggested, being completely open minded, trying to prove to him that she was willing to make changes and let Gerard have friends. He was quiet though.

Lindsey didn’t know what was going on in Gerard’s mind...he seemed off but he wouldn’t tell her why. She didn’t want to push it...so instead, she leaned forward and placed more kisses against his cheek; kisses against his neck...her arms still wrapped around his waist as the kisses she placed on his neck had deepened.

Without saying another word, Gerard turned his head to look at Lindsey; their eyes connecting as he placed both of his hands down against the sides of her face and leaned forward to kiss her lips...much like how Frank had kissed him the first time they kissed each other. She was a little surprised but didn’t complain as she kissed Gerard back...he had to show her nothing was wrong or different so he did what any husband would do for his wife.

He kissed her lips passionately while gently stroking her long, dark hair—moving long strands behind her ear as he felt his cock growing harder with each passing second...she felt it pressing against her, pulling away from him for a second to pull off her shirt over her head, messing up her hair a bit as she tossed her shirt to the floor—leaving her in her bra as she went back to kiss Gerard. Their kiss had deepened, the kitchen was filled with sounds of their lips kissing, heavy breathing, and soft moans...the entire time Gerard was kissing her, all he thought about was when Frank was kissing him...making him feel more excited as his hands reached behind Lindsey’s bra; unhooking it and removing it, exposing her decent sized, milky white breasts.

Without hesitation, Gerard leaned his head forward, wrapping his lips around his wife’s nipple—lightly sucking on it while gently biting down on it, occasionally. She let out soft gasps and quiet moans, trying to keep quiet and not wake their young daughter...as Gerard continued to suck on Lindsey’s breasts, all he could see in his mind was Frank. All he could see was the clear image of them kissing each other in the men’s bathroom—the way Frank had him pinned against the wall...his dick was fully hard and it felt like it was being constricted inside of his jeans.

She lightly pushed him off of her—his back was pressed against one of the kitchen counters as Lindsey captured his lips with hers as he hands reached over for the button and zipper on his jeans. 

After undoing them, she reached her hand inside—slowly rubbing Gerard’s erection through the fabric of his boxers...again with the feeling of instant déjà vu. Gerard was breathing hard and heavily as he closed his eyes, losing himself in the feeling of being touched.

“You’re so hard, baby...” Lindsey softly purred in a soft and seductive tone into his ear—the warmth of her breath against his skin sent shivers down his spine as he wandered around in his thoughts.

Lindsey then got down on her knees in front of her husband, grabbing onto his jeans—pulling them down along with his boxers, freeing his erection; hard and the tip was red and leaking precum.

“Wait, wait—are you sure B is asleep...?”

“Yes, she’s passed out—I swear...” Lindsey responded, assuring him as she grabbed a hold of him in her hand and leaned forward to softly kiss the tip, flicking her tongue over it before wrapping her lips around it—slowly leaning her head down further on it...Gerard’s mouth slowly dropped open as soft and breathy gasps escaped his lips, having to bite down on his bottom lip as he thought about Frank on his knees, sucking his cock.

Lindsey let out soft, pleasurable moans as she began to bob her head up and down Gerard’s hard cock, having Gerard curse softly under his breath as he grabbed a handful of her hair in his hand—lightly tugging and pulling on it while moving her head up and down his shaft.

“Oh, my God...oh, fuck...” Gerard moaned out softly at the feeling. He opened his eyes to look down at Lindsey...again, his eyes played tricks on him as he could see clear as crystal the face of Frank looking up at him. 

His dick was in his mouth again as he sucked on it at a normal and steady pace...his eyes were large and brightly hazel...Gerard could all of his tattoos as he tugged and pulled at his hair again, making him moan as he lowered his head even lower down on his cock—making Gerard moan out loudly...his moan echoed throughout the kitchen and he had to cover his mouth with his other hand to block out anymore sounds that were to come out of his lips.

“Does this feel good...?” His eyes snapped back open at the sound of Lindsey’s voice as he looked down to find her dark brown eyes staring up at him instead of Frank’s hazel eyes...she coughed out lightly while wiping drool off her chin while her other hand still held onto his dick.

“...yes...so good...” He breathed out softly to her, making her smile before she continued giving him oral pleasure. Wrapping her lips back around the tip of his dick and continued sucking away, picking up the pace a bit now as she bobbed her head faster—softly gagging on him while stroking him at the same time.

“Mmm—shit...holy fuck...” Gerard moaned out, letting of soft hisses of pure pleasure as he tried to focusing on cumming.

“- Venite per me...” Gerard could hear Frank’s voice loudly and clearly as his eyes opened again, seeing Frank instead of Lindsey again. Frank smirked up at him with a seductive look in his eyes as he stroked Gerard’s cock in his hand.

Gerard released his grip from his hair, bringing it over to his cheek to softly caress it...Frank placed a soft a gentle kiss against Gerard’s thumb before wrapping his lips around it while still pumping his hand up and down his hard dick, making Gerard gasp, whimper out softly, and moan at the familiar tingling feeling building up inside of his stomach and groin.

“Bravo ragazzo, sei cosi’ vicino...” Frank purred softly staring him in Italian as his smirk grew bigger as he continued jerking him off.

“Fuck—I’m gonna cum...” Gerard whimpered out as he felt sweat drizzle down his face...Frank wrapped his mouth around Gerard’s cock again and sucked it quicker and harder than before, making Gerard’s eyes roll in the back of his head as his mouth hung open...his heart was beating loudly and hard inside of his ears as the tingling sensation grew stronger inside his gut—biting down on his bottom lip hard as he released himself inside of his mouth.

As he stood there with his pants and boxers around his thighs...panting for a breath of air as more sweat ran down his face, he opened his eyes once more as he looked down to see Lindsey swallowing his cum, wiping off his chin before looking up at him.

“...sorry...”

“For what?” She giggled softly as she too breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath.

“I came...”

“That was the point.”

“But...we didn’t...y’know.”

“It’s okay...another time.” She replied seductively, winking up at him. He couldn’t help but chuckle softly to himself...Lindsey and Frank spoke alike, it was rather amusing to Gerard. As he put his pants and boxers back on and Lindsey pulled her shirt back on, she decided to take a relaxing hot shower and go to bed.

Gerard however couldn’t sleep and decided to try and ‘get more work done’ as he told Lindsey. Once he was alone, he checked his phone...he had three photo messages from Frank.

The first photo was of the one he’d already seen with Frank shirtless; showing off his tattoos while giving him sex eyes and biting down on his bottom lip.

The second photo was of Frank lying down on his bed, flat on his back, and taking another sexy selfie of him shirtless for Gerard to see...but the third photo made him feel all excited again. Frank had sent an after shower selfie. He was completely naked from head to toe—his body was covered in tattoos and he was being a tease by covering his dick with his towel...Gerard had to step outside of his backyard to call Frank.

“Did you like the photos?” Frank asked Gerard when he answered his phone on the second ring.

“You’re such a tease...”

“Ti e’ piaciuto...” Frank softly chuckled on the other line, making Gerard smile as he let the sound of his low, raspy voice fill his ear, sending tingles down his body.

“You’re naughty.”

“Why don’t you teach me a lesson then...?”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you...?”

“Je suis méchant pour vous...tu aimes que je sois mauvaise.” Frank spoke with a soft, firm, and seductive tone...Gerard liked it and was getting turned on a second time.

“Fuck, I wish I was with you...”

“Me, too...”

“If I were with you right now...I’d let you do whatever you’d want to me.” Gerard was feeling extremely anxious as he talked dirty with a soft and shy tone to Frank over the phone...he could hear him breathing softly on the other line.

“So tempting...tu essaies de m’exciter...?”

“Maybe. Maybe the next time we see each other...we can kiss a little, see where that takes us...”

“El chico hetero quiere follarme...” 

“Cállate...” Gerard loved that Frank so often switched languages while talking. He wondered how many more languages he actually knew.

“I want to see you, again.”

“You will—just gotta tell me when.”

“Well...I’m performing another show at the café this upcoming Wednesday, if you’d care to join me this time.”

“Want me to come over to practice...?”

“Certo, vorrei un po’ di compagnia.”

“...was that a yes or no?” Frank laughed on the other line, making Gerard laugh along with him...his heart was beating like crazy inside of his chest as his stomach had that familiar fluttering feeling inside of it.

“Sei così divertente. Yes, I want you to come by. We can practice...hang out.”

“This Wednesday, then. I’m your’s.”

“Bene. Non vedo l’ora.” Gerard smiled to himself as he felt himself blushing brightly red—his face was warm.

“Well...guess I’ll let you go now. I’ll see you Wednesday.”

“Wednesday. Bonne nuit, beaux rêves.”

“Goodnight. ” They got off the phone with one another. Gerard couldn’t stop smiling to himself as he stared at the photos of Frank that were sent to him...he also couldn’t stop thinking about the upcoming Wednesday. Not quite sure what was going to happen between them once they were alone together, but he had an idea...it was heavily hinted.

Gerard made his way back into his house...it was quiet. He went to check on Bandit, who was asleep peacefully in bed—hugging her Robin plush tightly as her little feet stuck out from underneath her blanket. Gerard smiled down at her as he leaned forward to place a kiss on the top of her head. He then went to check on Lindsey...she was already fast asleep in bed when he popped his head through the door to check on her...she looked peaceful.

Closing the door behind him...Gerard stood there for a moment...collecting himself as he continued to daydream about what would happen on Wednesday. Could he really go through with it...? Letting out a soft sigh, Gerard decided to take a cold shower in the downstairs bathroom—take care of himself from the photos he received from Frank. He looked at them one last time before deleting them, not wanting to risk Lindsey finding them. He had to be secretive about his new affair.


	14. Daydream

Sunday was a quiet day for the Way family. Lindsey was off and worked on new art projects in her art room while Gerard spent quality time with Bandit by eating cereal with her on the living room couch while watching cartoons for a while before playing with her on her swing set in the backyard. 

Mikey was still in town, at least for one more day before he headed back home to New Jersey. Around noon towards evening time, they all decided to go out to the movies as a family and then dinner a second time. Gerard didn’t hear from Frank all day that day, but he knew he had to keep quiet and not come off so desperate...part of him was worried Frank was still upset with him, but he tried not to think about it.

While Lindsey got Bandit ready for bed, reading her a bedtime story before tucking her in, Gerard decided to take a shower. The steaming hot water sprayed out of the shower faucet and onto his face; running down his pale, naked body...he ran both his soaking wet hands through his hair—slicking it back as he felt the hit water spill down his bare back. While he scrubbed body wash all over himself; his entire body covered in suds, he closed his eyes and got lost daydreaming...Gerard imagined what it would be like to touch Frank’s warm, soft, and tattooed skin...to trace his fingertips over each individual tattoo, to taste his lips again while getting him hard.

His heart began to beat like a drum inside of his chest as he continued washing himself...his hands moving lower down his chest, to his stomach, stopping just barely below his naval. Gerard’s dick twitched as he let out a soft sigh...his hand slowly slid down lower to grab a hold of his half hard erection; pressing his soaked forehead against the tiled shower wall as the steam coming from the hot water made it a little hard to breathe.

He breathed out of his mouth that hung open as he slowly pumped his hand up and down his cock; making it throb, ache, and grow harder—sending shivers down his spine as he continued daydreaming about Frank Iero.

Though it was only his imagination, Gerard used the memories he had with Frank and imagined he was standing behind him in the shower. His naked, tattooed body pressed against Gerard’s from behind—he wrapped both his arms around his waist while placing sweet and tender kisses down against his neck.

Gerard let out soft sighs as he leaned his head back...letting out a soft gasp as Frank deepened the kiss, and his tattooed hands touched him; feeling him up as Gerard felt Frank’s dick pressing against his bare asscheeks. He continued stroking himself at a slow pace, letting out soft and breathy moans as he felt his cock hardening and throbbing in his hand.

“Ti voglio così tanto...ho bisogno di te.” Frank whispered into Gerard’s ear before biting down on his neck—making him hiss out in both pain and pleasure...the feeling of Frank running his hands down Gerard’s wet, bare torso; down his chest, then down to his stomach, making goosebumps appear all throughout his pale white skin.

It felt so real...it made Gerard wish for it more than ever...imagining Frank was getting him completely aroused as he quickened the pace, jerking himself off faster than before. He was so eager for his kisses, his touch, his voice...it made his cock ache more intensely as he let out another moan, this one louder than the others. 

The daydream continued inside of Gerard’s mind as he imagined Frank’s beautiful hands touched him—both his hands lowered past his navel, trailing down his groin...wrapping one hand around his hard shaft while the other lightly gripped onto his hip, leaving kisses and bite marks all over both sides of his bare neck, and proceeded by stroking his hard dick for him.

“...fuck...oh, fuck...” Gerard softly cursed under his breath as more gasps followed behind them. 

“Starting without me...?” His eyes snapped back open; pulling him back into reality when he heard his wife’s voice behind him, making him turn around to face her...Lindsey smiled at while staring into his eyes with her’s—dark and filled with lust as she leaned her face forward to kiss Gerard’s lips as she continued stroking his erection.

Gerard was frozen as Lindsey kissed and touched him...he was also shocked that she snuck into the shower. He was so deep inside of the good part of his brain that he didn’t notice anything else around him.

Not wanting her to notice he wasn’t participating in the soft foreplay, Gerard kissed her back as he tried to focus on her touching him...the kiss was tender and passionate, and Lindsey continued pumping her hand up and down his cock. 

“Gerard...touch me...” She demanded in a soft spoken and seductive tone as she grabbed one of his hands, guiding it over towards her entrance—wanting him to pleasure her with his fingers. He didn’t say a word as he proceeded by rubbing the soaking wet, soft, and squishy lips on her pussy while rubbing her clit...Lindsey let out a soft and high pitched moan as she kissed his lips, again. She let out a loud and breathy whimper when Gerard slid a finger inside as she tightened her grip around his dick—stroking it harder and quicker than before as they kissed each other passionately.

When he daydreamed about Frank while touching himself, he felt more excited...more eager to be touched. Suddenly, Gerard could feel something happen to him that’s never happened in all the time he had been with Lindsey.

He pulled away, breaking their kiss and intimidate moment.

“Gee...? Are you okay?” Lindsey asked, feeling concerned for him as well as confused until her eyes looked down to see that her husband was no longer aroused and became soft...he couldn’t even look at her.

“Oh...”

“I’m...I’m so sorry—I don’t know what happened...” Gerard mumbled, watching the look of disappointment spread across Lindsey’s face but she tried to hide it.

“That’s okay...”

“Lynz, I’m sorry...I guess I’m just not in the mood...” Gerard shrugged his shoulders while still avoiding eye contact with her as he fell completely soft, now.

“Maybe you just weren’t expecting me.” Was all she replied with before getting out of the shower, leaving Gerard standing under the hot water...he let out a soft sigh as he mentally cursed to himself, knowing that she was upset. He tried to stay hard and focus only on his wife, but all he could think about was Frank. He wanted Frank to be the one in the shower with him; kissing him, touching him, making him moan out in pure pleasure...he wanted Frank to be the one to make him cum.

After the awkward moment that happened between them in the shower, Gerard changed into his pajamas and went to check on Bandit before dealing with Lindsey—hoping he could explain without making things worse.

Slowly opening the door outside his daughter’s bedroom, he peeked through the crack to see her lying down on her side in bed with her blanket covering her little body and she cling onto her favorite Robin plush. 

Gerard pushed the door open...the soft creaking echoed throughout her room and he was worried she’d wake up...to his surprise, she turned her body around and looked up at her with her large, dark eyes.

“Hi, daddy.”

“Hey, B. You’re still awake?”

“Can’t sleep.” Bandit sighed out softly as she moved her feet around under her blanket.

“You’ve got school in the morning, monkey. You’ve gotta try to sleep.”

“I know...I’m trying, but I’m wide awake.” Gerard chuckled softly as he sat down on her bed. She sat up afterwards and held her Robin plush close against her.

“Did you have fun today?”

“Yup! I always have fun spending time with you, mommy, and Uncle Mikey.” Gerard smiled over at her, nodding his head in agreement.

“I was happy to see Frank again, too.” She said, smiling over at Gerard.

“You like Frank?” Gerard asked her. Bandit’s smile widened, her cheeks were bright and rosy, and she nodded her head in response.

“He’s nice and I like the way he talks. I like his puppy, too—she’s so cute.”

“He is nice. I like the way he talks, too.” Gerard agreed with her, blushing to himself as he thought about Frank speaking to him in Italian, French, and even Spanish.

“Daddy?” 

“Yes, B?” Bandit then got out of her comfortable position; crawling over to sit right next to her dad on her bed, Gerard wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close against him.

“Do you like Frank?” She didn’t hesitate to ask her question to him, making him freeze.

“...what do you mean?”

“Do you like Frank like how you like mommy?” Gerard had forgotten how blunt children could be when it came to asking questions.

“...B, I love your mommy.”

“Okay, you love mommy. Do you love Frank, too?” She asked nonchalantly as she swung her feet around, waiting for him to answer.

“...Bandit, listen. Frank is my friend...I like him. A lot. But I love your mommy, very much.” He explained to her, but at the same time he didn’t want to lie to her—so he was careful with his words.

“Daddy, if you love Frank like you love mommy, I won’t be mad.” He felt like he was being interrogated by his only daughter...she was only five. Yet she was asking him questions he expected from his wife...Bandit looked so much like her; practically identical to Lindsey...she may have resembled her mother, but she didn’t share the same personality as her. Gerard was at least thankful for that, but she was quite the curious one.

“Frank is my friend. I’m married to your mommy. The love I feel for mommy is different from how I feel towards Frank.”

“So...you do love Frank?” She was way too smart and observant for her young age, but she seemed to understand what her dad tried explaining to her.

“Frank is a nice guy...he’s great. I love mommy, okay...?” He assured her. Bandit stared up at Gerard with her beautiful dark brown eyes, slowly nodding her head in response.

“And I love you. I love you so much, monkey...you know that, right?”

“I know, daddy. I love you too, silly goose.” She smiled up at him. He sighed in relief, feeling like he could breathe again as he held his daughter close against him before getting her back into bed and under the covers—kissing her cheek softly before tucking her in and making sure she was comfortable.

“Goodnight, monkey.”

“Goodnight, daddy.”

“Sweet dreams, B. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, daddy.” Gerard smiled down at her before leaning forward to place a sweet and loving kiss down against her forehead before heading out of her room.

“Daddy?” Bandit called out to him with her soft and sweet voice, he was halfway out of the door but froze as he turned his head to look back at her.

“Its okay if you love Frank the same way as you love mommy.” She was so young...she didn’t understand; Bandit was fully unaware of what her father felt towards his ‘friend’. He didn’t want his only daughter to get involved in a complicated situation he put himself in...there was already tension between him and Lindsey, he didn’t want Bandit to be caught in the crossfires. But she would be.

“Keep this between us, okay...? I don’t want mommy to know we talked about this.”

“Why...?”

“Promise me, B.” She fell quiet for a moment, squeezing onto her Robin plush. 

“I promise.” She replied softly, almost whispering. 

“Go to sleep now, okay...?” Bandit slowly nodded her head in response. Gerard smiled a half smile over at her before he exited out of her bedroom and closed her door behind him. He sighed out softly while rubbing his temples...cursing softly under his breath.

Now he had to deal with Lindsey and he didn’t know if he had the strength or energy to, but he knew he had to.

He found Lindsey sitting in one of the chairs in the backyard, smoking a cigarette. Gerard took a deep breath while stepping outside, making her look back at him before quickly looking away as she took a drag off her cigarette; the tip burned brightly as the smoke floated off of it and into the air.

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“Are you mad?” Lindsey didn’t respond as she blew the smoke out in between her lips.

“Lynz...”

“Please don’t apologize, again. I told you it was okay.” She was clearly pissed off and moody...Gerard let out a soft sigh as he scratched the back of his head—his hair was still wet from the shower.

“You’re mad.”

“Of course I’m mad. You seemed to enjoy getting yourself off more than me—you didn’t even want me. You got soft.” 

“Great, so we’re fighting again?”

“No, I came out here to have a smoke and calm down. I don’t want you to explain yourself so just do me a favor and give me space.”

“Are you fucking serious?”

“I’m dead serious. Go away.” Lindsey spat at Gerard without looking back at him. Gerard scoffed softly before he found himself chuckling...then it turned into a full, hearty laugh.

“You’re impossible to make happy, you know that? I liked you better when you weren’t such a bitch.”

“Excuse me?” Lindsey turned her head back to look over at Gerard.

“I’m leaving—going for a drive.”

“Tell Frank I said hi.”

“Fuck you, Lynz.” Gerard left her sight and made his way back inside the house, grabbed onto his jacket, his car keys, and made his way out the front door and to his car.

His heart raced inside of his chest—feeling aggravated and irritated as he started the car and drove it off the driveway and down the dark road...he sped his car as his eyes teared up and he wasn’t sure where to go. 

He had an idea of where to go, but he debated whether he should or not...he didn’t want to drop by unexpectedly in the middle of the night, clearly in distress and in tears...Gerard thought about just driving for a long period of time until the sun rose. 

He and Lindsey never spoke like that to one another in all the years they’ve been together; swearing at each other and being passive aggressive...that’s never happened before. It really upset him, but she wasn’t exactly wrong. 

Before he realized it, Gerard found himself driving into Frank’s neighborhood as he passed the park where he took Bandit. He parked his car outside of Frank’s house and saw that the light outside his front door was still on as well as some lights being on inside of his house...Gerard could see it through his windows.

He held back his tears as he unbuckled himself out of his seat, stepped out of the car, and pace his way over to the walk path leading to the front door of Frank’s house. Gerard rang the doorbell and he could hear Lois barking inside—her barks were loud and muffled.

“Calmati, Lois.” Gerard could hear Frank’s voice getting closer and closer as his heart pounded inside of his chest. Frank opened the door and found Gerard standing there...his eyes were red, puffy, and he had the saddest look resting on his beautiful face.

“Gerard...? Stai bene...?” Gerard stood there, frozen and unable to speak. Frank could tell he was upset but remained calm as he waited for him to say something. Lois was wagging her tail happily and excitedly as she stood beside Frank.

“What happened...?” He asked Gerard. Finally Gerard let out a soft whimper as tears escaped his eyes and spilled down his cheeks...he let out soft and breathy gasps as his body trembled. 

“Gerard...” Frank called out his name softly as he stepped out and embraced him in his arms, hugging him tightly. Gerard sobbed softly in Frank’s arms as he wrapped his arms around Frank’s waist—squeezing him. Lois stepped out too and jumped onto Gerard as she continued wagging her tail.

“...I’m sorry...” Gerard whimpered out in between sobs as he continued trembling in Frank’s arms...Frank softly shushed him as he gently stroked Gerard’s short, soft, walnut brown hair with his tattooed fingertips.

“Ne t’excuse pas, c’est bon. Je suis là...” He spoke so sweetly and softly as he comforted Gerard in his arms. For a while, Frank let Gerard cry as he continued holding him close—gently rubbing his back while stroking his hair and softly shushing him.

Gerard pulled away from Frank, wiping away his tears as he tried to pull himself together...they both remained silent as this was going on.

“Are you okay...?” Frank questioned Gerard once more. Gerard sniffled softly as he continued wiping away his own tears while trying to catch his breath. Gerard looked at Frank; his eyes meeting with his...his heart thumping away at a rapid pace inside of his chest as he suddenly leaned his face forward—roughly pressing his lips against Frank’s.

Frank kissed Gerard back as he placed both his hands down against the sides of his face—deepening the kiss while letting out a low and soft moan against Gerard’s lips...his tongue slipping inside his mouth as they continued kissing each other.

“Frank...I want you...” Gerard mumbled out shyly, feeling bashful as his cheeks reddened.

“Je te veux aussi...” Frank cooed out softly as he softly caressed Gerard’s soft cheek before kissing each other, again. 

He didn’t hesitate to grab Gerard by his hand, leading him inside of his house with Lois following behind the both of them.


	15. Ecstasy

He led them into his bedroom...not hesitating to kiss Gerard’s lips hungrily but gently; gently biting down on his full bottom lip, flicked his tongue across them before slipping it inside of his mouth as he deepened their kiss. Frank breathed out softly through his nostrils as he grabbed both sides of Gerard’s neck with both tattooed hands; lightly squeezing down on it as he kissed him open mouthed and passionately.

Moaning inside of his mouth, Gerard wrapped both his arms around Frank’s waist—pulling him closer against his body...touching and feeling up on his body while swirling his tongue along with Frank’s as they continued tasting each other. Gerard’s shaky hands found their way underneath Frank’s shirt, making him groan out softly as he squeezed his hand down a little harder around Gerard’s neck; applying pressure and immediately making his dick tingle and harden at the feeling.

His hands explored underneath the beautiful, tattooed, Italian man’s shirt—his fingernails grazing against his skin, feeling the soft little hairs coming from his happy trail...Frank let out another low moan against Gerard’s lips as he his hands slid down from his slightly reddened neck to his chest...Frank could feel his heart racing through his shirt as his lips moved from Gerard’s lips over to his cheek, to his ear—whispering something in French before aiming for his neck, nipping at it before kissing it hungrily.

“Aaahhh—fuck...! Oh, fuck...” Gerard cried out in pure pleasure as he felt his erection growing inside of his sweatpants; becoming constricted and uncomfortable...his face heated up when he felt Frank’s hard dick poking him through his jeans.

“Voglio scoparti cosi’ tanto...” Frank breathed out as he breathed hard and heavily, his hands lowering down Gerard’s chest—moving lower to his stomach...his fingers hooking the gems of his sweatpants.

“No—I wanna touch you...” Gerard spoke out in a soft and breathy tone as he stared at Frank with tired looking, lustful eyes; his pupils were dilated in his stunning, emerald shaded eyes...his cheeks were stained ruby and his lips were swollen from their kissing. 

“Sit down.” Frank said as he turned Gerard around, switching places from where they were standing, and sitting him down on his bed. Gerard wasn’t quite sure what was going on until Frank pulled off his t-shirt over his head; exposing his tattooed torso while messing up his hair a bit, tossing his shirt to the floor as his hands reached for his belt to unbuckle them. 

Gerard helped him out by unbuttoning and unzipping Frank’s jeans...the inside of his mouth watered as his heart pounded inside of his chest. Frank’s erection was visible in his tight fitting black boxers...Gerard licked his lips while biting down on his bottom lip as he reached his hand over to touch it through the soft fabric, making Frank tense up as his breath got caught in the back of his throat...breathing out a soft sigh as Gerard rubbed it through his boxers, making it harder as it twitched. He felt it and his cheeks turned even redder.

Frank was patient and sweet as he let Gerard touch him—let his hands explore all of him...it was clear that he’d never done anything sexual with a man before; the way his hands trembled while touching him, curious to know what excites Frank—where his sensitive spots are all over his body.

Gerard leaned his face forward, pressing his wet and soft lips down above Frank’s naval...kissing it softly as his hand continued rubbing his rock hard dick through his boxers. Frank stared down at him, admiring and examining Gerard’s beauty; his milk white skin, his naturally groomed, dark, thick eyebrows—his dark, long, curly eyelashes, his cute, little pixie shaped nose...he was so beautiful it was unreal. Gerard placed more soft, teasing kisses down against Frank’s naval before flicking his tongue across it, making the tattooed Italian man quiver and moan as he ran his tattooed hand through Gerard’s hair.

“You’re so beautiful, Gerard...sei perfetta.” Frank cooed softly at him as he gently caressed Gerard’s rosy cheek. Looking up at him with his sleepy looking, aroused, jaded eyes...Gerard didn’t break eye contact with Frank as he grabbed onto the hems of his boxers and pulled them down, letting them drop to the floor.

Both their hearts were going crazy. Frank stared into Gerard’s eyes as Gerard stared into Frank’s...finally Gerard’s eyes wandered down from his handsome face and doe eyes down to his cock. It was average in length; the girth was thick and he was circumcised...his balls were pink and swollen and the tip was glistened and red...Gerard gulped hard as he leaned his head forward—flicking his tongue across the snake eye on Frank’s tip, making him gasp out softly as his body tensed up again...Gerard continued by kissing his tip softly before proceeding to lick the tip again before unexpectedly wrapping his lips around it, lowering his head down all the way to the beginning of Frank’s shaft, making him groan and moan out loudly as his eyebrows raised and his eyes shut, his mouth dropping open as he felt shivers down his spine.

“...fuck...” He cursed out softly as Gerard pulled away—his eyes were teary and the back of his throat felt weird, as if it were tingling, and grabbed a gentle hold of Frank’s cock with one hand as he began to pump his hand up and down at a slow pace while leaning his face forward to flick his tongue over Frank’s balls.

“Oh, mio Dio...porca puttana...” Frank moaned out as he breathed heavily, his hand running through Gerard’s hair again as he felt his tongue lick up and down, and all around his testicles, making goosebumps appear all throughout his tattooed skin.

Gerard placed kisses on the sides of Frank’s cock as he continued stroking it at a more normal and steady pace now...he was so caught up in the moment and wanted to make Frank feel incredible that he managed to take all of him into his mouth again—pushing his head down lower than the first time; practically down his his balls as he held his breath, sucking Frank quickly and hard until he was red in the face and he could feel himself gagging as tears ran down his face.

“Sì, così, così, cazzo...” Frank breathed out softly and seductively in Italian as he pulled onto Gerard’s hair, making him whimper around his cock before pulling away...a thick and visible line of Gerard’s saliva connected from his bottom lip to Frank’s red tip, wiping his mouth while coughing and catching his breath.

Frank bent down and captured Gerard’s face with both hands as he roughly crashed his lips against his...kissing him hungrily as their teeth grazed against each other’s...Frank could taste himself on Gerard’s lips but he didn’t care. 

“Take off your clothes...” He demanded Gerard, his voice still breathy but he sounded more serious...almost like he was angry. Gerard obeyed and proceeded to remove his jacket, then his sweatpants along with his boxers.

“Come here...” Frank said as he grabbed Gerard by his hand, standing him up and off the bed—proceeding to kiss him, again. Their hands explored each other’s bodies; Frank’s hands reached down to touch Gerard’s round and perky ass—squeezing it while Gerard’s hands grazed down Frank’s torso...that’s when Frank got down on his knees in front of him, taking him into his mouth shortly afterwards.

Gerard let out a soft little moan as he leaned his head back while closing his eyes, feeling the back of Frank’s throat on his cock made him moan out louder as he cursed out softly...he ran his fingers through his hair, push his head down further, making him hold it before he pulled away to cough and catch his breath.

Frank sat Gerard back down on his bed, demanding him to scoot up so that he’d be lying down flat on his back against Frank’s bed. He climbed on top of him—capturing his lips with his again as their hard cocks rubbed against one another’s.

“Lie down on your stomach...” Gerard obeyed like a good boy as he turned himself around on his belly. Frank reached over to retrieve anal lube that was inside one of the drawers in his nightstand beside the bed...Gerard’s heart raced as he heard Frank rummage around for whatever it was he needed during this time. 

Tossing the bottle of lube beside him, not wanting to use it just yet...Frank gazed down at Gerard’s beautiful figure—mainly at his ass which stuck out in the air. He leaned down and placed a kiss down the lower part of Gerard’s back as his tattooed hands touched his pale, bare asscheeks...gently massaging them, occasionally spanking him, the feeling of his soft fingertips grazing against his skin sent chills up his spine as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling.

“Lift your ass up, support yourself with your knees, and spread your legs open...”

“...what...?”

“Trust me. Do as I say...you’ll be okay.” Frank assured him with his soft spoken and breathy voice, his accent coming out smoothly as his hands continued to touch Gerard’s ass.

He did as he was told and sat himself up with his knees—bringing his ass up in the air, slowly spreading them open in front of Frank.

Frank continued massaging Gerard as he scooted himself down a bit, proceeding to lean his face forward—flicking his tongue across Gerard’s tight hole.

“...oohhhh...wow...” Gerard exclaimed in surprise, making Frank grin as he repeated what he did with his tongue; licking it up and Gerard’s hole, swirling it around...Gerard gasped and moaned out loud with his face buried into the blanket—making it sound muffled as he gripped onto them.

Frank let out soft and low moans as he pleasured him from behind with his tongue; the vibrations of his moans tingled all over Gerard’s body, making his eyes roll back as he let out a high pitched squeal of pure pleasure.

“...oh wow, oh fuck...mmmm—Frank...!” He called out the Italian man’s name, moaning out loudly and repeatedly as he felt his hard dick twitch and ache.

Frank felt like he was close to climaxing soon and he didn’t want it to end so soon already. Pulling away from Gerard’s ass, he scooted himself back up, grabbing onto the bottle of lube still resting beside him on his bed...he opened the cap—squeezing enough lube onto the fingertips of both his index and middle finger; smearing the cold, thick, runny, and clear gel all over his fingers...he brought them over to Gerard’s wet, warm, tight hole—rubbing them over it.

“Oh, my God...”

“C’est bon. Respire.” Frank spoke softly in French as he continued lubing up Gerard’s entrance.

“Can I stick it in...?” Frank asked him, still rubbing his fingers against Gerard. Letting out a soft whimper and moan of pure pleasure, he slowly nodded his head in response.

“Relax...breathe.” Frank slowly slid his lubed up middle finger inside. Gerard whimpered out loudly as he sealed his eyes shut and buried his face back into the blanket.

Frank stood still, letting Gerard’s body adjust to the brand new feeling...he felt incredibly warm and tight around Frank’s finger. 

“Do you want me to stop...?” Gerard shook his head no.

“I want you to move...”

“Are you sure...?” Gerard nodded his head as his eyes remained sealed shut. His heart was beating so hard that it felt like it was going to burst though his chest, and he could hear his heartbeat inside of his ears.

Frank pulled his finger out—slowly pushing it back in, deeper than the first time, feeling Gerard tense up as he repeated his actions by pumping his finger in and out of him at a slow and steady pace...the feeling of his hole being stretched open burned all throughout his body as his eyes teared back. 

The feeling was uncomfortable but he held back his whines and whimpers as he tried to get used to it...Frank quickened the pace a little as he continued fingering Gerard from behind...the feeling of pain and discomfort soon melted into a tingling, ecstatic, pleasurable feeling.

“...mmmmyes...oh God, yes...” Gerard purred out as his eyes slowly opened, only to have them roll in the back of his head as Frank continued pumping his finger in and out of him.

“More...” Gerard demanded. Frank slid his lubed up middle finger inside of him now—the stretch burned hotter and more intensely all around his body, but he lifted his head up and let out a loud, breathy moan; echoing all throughout Frank’s bedroom.

“Ohh...fuck...Frank, I need you now...” 

“Are you sure...?”

“Yes...please Frank, I wanna feel your cock inside of me, now...” He whined out, breathing hard and heavily as he tugged onto the blanket below him.

Hearing him beg for it made his hard dick tingle and he pulled out his fingers—rubbing what was left of the lube on them all over his cock before moving himself closer towards Gerard, grabbing a hold of his dick and placing it in between Gerard’s asscheeks...rubbing his hard shaft in between them, his skin was so warm and soft. Frank grabbed a hold of his dick again as he guided the tip towards Gerard’s loosened up and wet hole, slowly pushing it in.

They both gasped at the feeling of one another; Frank let out a low and throaty groan as his eyes closed and his head leaned back while Gerard squealed out loudly and high pitched as his enormous, green eyes widened and his mouth dropped open...his legs felt numb as they continued to shake—the stretch was unbearable and the burn made tears spill down Gerard’s red face.

“Oh, mon Dieu...tu es si serré...” Frank breathed out as he began to thrust his hips against Gerard; pushing himself in and out of his tight hole at a slow and gentle pace.

“...mmm...oww...fuck...” Gerard whimpered out softly at the feeling of Frank’s thick cock buried deep inside of him.

“You feel so good around my cock...” Frank moaned out as he continued penetrating his dick in and out of Gerard’s ass.

“It hurts...”

“I know, I’m sorry—should I stop...?” Gerard shook his head no, trying to adjust to the intense pain he was feeling.

“No—let me get used to it...” Gerard choked out as he sealed his eyes shut, breathing in through his nostrils and out through his mouth. Frank massaged the lower part of Gerard’s back as he continued to move himself against Gerard...he felt him relax around him eventually—hearing his whines and whimpers turn into soft moans, curse words, and calling out Frank’s name.

“Harder...” Gerard demanded. Frank grabbed a hold of him by his hips as he quickened the pace; thrusting himself in and out of Gerard faster and harder than before—the bed creaked as he bedroom was filled with moans and the sound of skin slapping as Frank’s balls hit against Gerard’s asscheeks.

“Oh, my God...! Oh fuck, yes...!” Gerard squealed out as Frank found his sweet spot; continuously hitting it with each thrust of his hips.

“Si bien, bébé...si bon.” Frank moaned out as he held himself up with one leg standing flat down against the bed for support...he pushed himself all the way inside down to his balls, making Gerard moaned out louder than before as he wrapped his hand around his own cock, immediately stroking it while Frank fucked him.

“Fuck—I’m so close...I can feel it...”

“Cum inside me, Frank...I wanna feel all of you inside of me.” Gerard purred out as he continued jerking himself off—feeling his stomach and groin tingle as his balls ached.

Frank thrusted himself even quicker than before, making the bed squeak repeatedly and continuously as Gerard yelled out in pleasure, feeling like he was drowning in a pool of ecstasy.

Frank continued hitting Gerard’s G-spot over and over until he pushed himself all the way in one last time before releasing his warm, thick, cum inside of Gerard. He came inside his hand when Frank climaxed.


	16. Secrets & Lies

The night seemed to be endless, like it was going on forever, but neither of them wanted it to end. After they made love, Frank lied himself down beside Gerard—his chest huffing up and down, sweat beaming down his face as he panted for a breath of air.

“E’ stato il miglior sesso che abbia mai fatto...” Frank said in between breaths as he looked over at Gerard, who was still lying down on his back next to Frank—his head turned to look over at him as he panted softly, his face still stained crimson and completely drenched with sweat.

“Sei incredibile...” He grinned over at him while still breathing hard and heavily. Gerard was speechless and his vision blurred as his head felt heavy like an anchor. For a while they stayed like that, lying down in complete and utter silence.

“Are you okay, Gerard...?” Frank asked him as he continued staring over at him, still finding him ever so stunning even if he was out of breath and quite messy looking as well as worn out.

“Mhmm...just tired...” Gerard mumbled out softly as his eyelids began to feel heavy. The soft cushioning of Frank’s bed below his half naked body softened his muscles as he felt the urge to sleep slowly take over him.

Frank smiled over at him as he scooted his tattooed, naked, and sweat glistened body over towards Gerard—embracing him in his arms; wrapping both arms around his neck while pulling him close against him.

“Sleep, Gerard...sogni d’oro.” Frank spoke so softly that his voice almost came out as a whisper as he placed a soft kiss down against Gerard’s dampened forehead; tasting it on his lips while lightly stroking his soft, walnut brown hair with his inked fingers.

They both eventually fell into a deep slumber on Frank’s bed, underneath his blanket. Gerard didn’t budge in Frank’s arms as his head peacefully rested down against his bare, tattooed chest...the soothing and comforting sound of his heart beating softly at a slow and steady pace helped him sleep the deepest and heaviest he’s ever slept.

It all seemed too good to be true...Frank seemed too good to be true; he was perfect in every single way—he was incredibly gorgeous, he made Gerard laugh and smile nonstop, and he was also the sweetest person he’s ever met. He was very charming...but most of all, Gerard couldn’t believe that Frank wanted him. Out of all the people he could have in a heartbeat, Frank chose Gerard...it all seemed too good to be true and he feared he’d wake up and the heat they created that very same night would’ve only been just a dream.

It was a gut feeling that began to disturb his rest, but at the same time Gerard didn’t want to wake up as a fear of waking up back at home either asleep with his head resting on his art desk with his art utensils scattered around his head, or on the couch since he and Lindsey had another heated fight.

The thought of Lindsey made Gerard wake up in a completely different position. He was in Frank’s bedroom—he recognized the design and the way everything was set out...he did go over to his house the night before. He did spend the night over at Frank’s after having sex...Gerard couldn’t believe they actually slept together. 

He was positioned differently on Frank’s bed with him turned on his side with his head resting comfortably against one of Frank’s pillows...the tattooed and beautiful, Italian man laid comfortably behind him; spooning him with one arm wrapped around his waist. It didn’t look dark outside anymore as Gerard noticed light forming—a new day had arrived but the sun hadn’t fully risen just yet.

“...shit.” Gerard cursed softly under his breath as he checked the time on Frank’s alarm clock that rested on the nightstand on his side of Frank’s bed...it was five in the morning, close to being six.

“...shit, fuck...” Gerard cursed under his breath once more as he gently grabbed a hold of Frank’s tattooed hand, slowly and carefully moving it off of him before slowly sitting himself up in bed.

Frank hadn’t budged as he remained in a deep state of sleep; his face was buried in his pillow, his mouth hung open just slightly, and he breathed softly and steadily while Gerard searched for both his jeans and boxers. His phone was still located in the pocket of his pants and his heart raced rapidly inside of his chest as he hesitated checking it. There was only one text message from Lindsey that was received around the same time Gerard arrived outside of Frank’s house.

Lindsey  ❣️ :

“Wherever you are, I just hope you’re safe. Please come home, soon...” His heart continued racing as he reread the message from his wife several more times before letting out a soft sigh, turning off his phone screen and holding it in his hand while getting his bottoms on as he then searched for his shoes. Wishing he didn’t have to leave, Gerard decided to leave a note for Frank to wake up to explaining why he wasn’t there next to him before finding his car keys still in the pocket of his jacket and saying goodbye to Lois as she awoken from hearing him rummage around the house...he kneeled down to her level, pet her while softly stroking her fur before leaving out the front door and down the walkway.

Once Gerard got inside of his car and stuck the key into the ignition; the sound of his car engine starting up as the car lightly vibrated...he turned his head over to gaze at Frank’s house once more...thinking about Lindsey while doing so; hearing her voice inside of his head as he thought about her one and genuinely concerning sounding text message...deep down in his heart, Gerard didn’t feel as guilty as he should’ve for committing adultery. Either he was still angry with his wife because of what she said to him the night before...or Gerard was angry with Lindsey because she was right about one thing.

‘Tell Frank I said hi.’ She knew where he was going and who he’d be seeing...Gerard didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. Letting out a soft sigh while looking away from Frank’s house, he turned his car around and drove it down the road; he drove in total silence as he drove past the park, the familiar roads, and felt his anxiety kicking in as he drove closer to home.

Holding his breath as he drove in total silence into his neighborhood...it got even worse when he drove his car into the empty parkway outside his house...Gerard sat there for a long moment—both his hands squeezing onto the steering wheel as his eyes gazed at his home. He thought about what would happen when he stepped inside; afraid he’d run into Lindsey and she’d start interrogating him...he didn’t have the energy or strength to lie to his wife and play it calmly. 

The house was quiet when he unlocked the front door and let himself inside. Gerard rubbed his tired eyes as he pulled his jacket off; hanging it up on the small coat rack hanging on the wall by the front door, kicking off his shoes as he didn’t hesitate to make his way into the downstairs bathroom to take a hot and relaxing shower.

Gerard kept the door locked before showering...he wanted to be alone. Bile rose in the back of his throat—making him feel rather nauseous as he felt a small headache forming while he washed his bare, pale, and naked body with a soaking, sudsy, washcloth smeared with his body wash; erasing the scent of sex and cum that rested deep inside of him...during the shower, Gerard found himself daydreaming about the sex with Frank.

The way he touched him; so gentle and delicate, as if Gerard were made of glass. Frank was so patient and so sweet with him during the whole thing, from beginning to end, he let Gerard explore all of him...to Gerard, Frank was absolutely perfect. 

To Gerard, Frank was like a rare gem or a beautiful, mesmerizing piece of artwork on display in an art gallery. He continued questioning how Frank chose him out of literally anyone else in the whole entire world. Life was funny sometimes...it was definitely full of surprises. Some good, and some bad.

For Gerard, his fate to meet and interact with Frank was a blessing in disguise. A blessing that arrived much too late for him though as his eyes stared down at his gold wedding band that rested around his left ring finger as it normally did...Gerard slept with someone else that wasn’t his wife. 

Gerard was unfaithful towards Lindsey...he didn’t regret what he did with Frank, though. The whole thought made him feel sicker as he felt physically clean, now.

After the shower, Gerard made his way upstairs to change into a fresh pair of clean clothes while tossing his dirty ones in the laundry basket...he froze before stepping into his and Lindsey’s bedroom only to find both her and Bandit sleeping together in bed. Lindsey slept on her side with their young daughter in his arms.

He loved his daughter more than anything...that part was true. Bandit was Gerard’s whole world...but he didn’t feel the same way towards Lindsey. Not anymore, anyways. Not wanting to wake them, he went back downstairs and changed into his bathrobe and house slippers as he stepped outside in his backyard to be alone with his thoughts and to smoke a much needed cigarette or two.

The sun had fully risen now, and the birds were chirping loudly as a slight and gentle breeze blew in the air and through Gerard’s still wet hair—sending chills down his spine as he daydreamed about Frank. He wondered if he was still asleep or if he had woken up since Gerard left...he really hoped he’d get his note, since he left it on the pillow Frank wasn’t using on the other side of his bed. 

Now that they took things much further than they probably shouldn’t have reached, Gerard didn’t care at that moment because he felt alive; like he awoken from a long and deep coma...that void that lived inside of him and seemed to grown bigger every year felt like it had been filled. All because of a beautiful and charming Italian man. 

“Sei così bello...” Frank’s voice was heard clearly inside Gerard’s mind as he smiled to himself at the memories of Frank kissing him; tasting his lips while feeling his tongue inside of his mouth—kissing him passionately and deeply, making himself fee excited as he daydreamed about Frank undressing in front of him. 

Daydreaming about all of his tattoos...memorizing every single one down to its last detail and color...Gerard couldn’t Frank out of his mind and he couldn’t resist it or deny it any longer.

“Gerard...?” His head snapped back as he nearly jumped out of his skin, finding Lindsey standing under the doorway of their sliding door, still dressed in her pajamas as her long, dark hair was tied up in a messy ponytail.

“You’re home...” She said, sounding relieved though she wouldn’t say. Gerard raised both his eyebrows up as he nodded his head in agreement before taking one last drag off his cigarette before putting it out in his ashtray.

“Where’s B?”

“She’s getting ready for school. You should go see her...she was pretty upset when she saw you weren’t in bed with me.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” Gerard asked Lindsey without facing her.

“She had a nightmare...she didn’t want to be alone.” Gerard suddenly felt guilt forming in the pit of his stomach and it was hard for him to swallow since his throat suddenly felt dry. He wished more than anything that Bandit wouldn’t get involved...he didn’t want his little girl to get hurt. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for her.” Was all he responded with, still not facing her.

“When did you come home...?” Lindsey asked him, keeping her distance away from her husband who was clearly still mad at her.

“Not too long ago.”

“...can I ask where you’ve been...?” She clearly didn’t want to argue. Gerard could hear it in her voice...the way she spoke, like she was walking around on eggshells.

“...nowhere. I just drove. I parked my car far from the city to be alone and get a view of California...” Lying through his teeth—the biggest lie he’d ever tell in all of his life. Lindsey didn’t respond as she slowly nodded her head in response.

“I see.” Was all she said. Gerard stood up from his chair as he made his way back inside...he walked right passed Lindsey without saying another word and still avoiding eye contact with her to go and see Bandit.

“...Gee?” Lindsey softly called out his name, making him stop walking...he slowly turned his head to look over at her. She looked sad; her dark eyes were glassy looking, almost as if they were glistening with tears...that was the saddest Gerard had ever seen her.

“I’m glad you’re home.” She said while forcing a small smile before it quickly faded away and she continued looking heartbroken and on the verge of tears.

“Okay.” Gerard replied simply but rather coldly, making Lindsey’s heart sink a little more inside of her chest. He felt like a bad guy...but he wanted to avoid any tension he could by playing along. Deep down Gerard knew what he did with Frank wasn’t right...but it felt right. The one thought that constantly ran through his head after he slept with Frank was how long could they do this before their dirty little secret was exposed and revealed...? He wanted to see him again. 

He’d have to be careful...Gerard knew he couldn’t pretend it never happened. He wanted Frank and he had him...it was clear as crystal that he wanted Gerard, too. He was fully aware he was married, but he still wanted him because he knew what Gerard really wanted. He’d have to be careful...keep Frank as his secret. Lindsey wasn’t an idiot though. She wouldn’t say, but she felt her husband wasn’t telling her everything...she felt he was hiding something. She was right.


	17. Café

Bandit was overjoyed when she saw Gerard that morning and didn’t hesitate to jump into her father’s arms and squeeze the life out of him...Gerard held his daughter tightly as his mind wandered to the day he saw Frank at the park where he took her to play after school.

After he changed out of his bathrobe and into a pair of clean clothes, he drove Bandit to school. They sang along to different songs that played on the radio the entire drive to her school...he loved spending quality time with her and felt guilty for not doing it as much as he used to. He was distracted by Frank and he’d want to bring Bandit by sometimes whenever he decided to hang out with him again...but Gerard worried she’d end up telling Lindsey.

“Will you pick me up after school?” Bandit asked Gerard as they held hands while he walked her to the front entrance outside of her school.

“Same time, same place.”

“You better.” 

“I will monkey, I promise.”

“Pinky promise?” She asked him as she held out her small pinky up in the air, making him smile and chuckle softly as he wrapped his pinky finger around her’s. They exchanged hugs and kisses before Bandit made her way through the entrance, leaving Gerard all alone as he turned himself around and made his way back to his car. As he unlocked the car doors with a press of his car keys button, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸

Gerard found himself smiling as he answered the phone call on the second ring—bringing the phone to his ear.

“...hello?”

“Buongiorno, bellissima.” Frank sounded sleepy on the other line, like he’d just woken up...his tone was soft and he sounded a bit groggy, but Gerard was happy overall to hear his voice.

“Hey...good morning, I mean.”

“Tu m’as manqué ce matin...”

“I missed you, too...I’m sorry for leaving without saying a word—I had to get home. I wanted to take my daughter to school.”

“No need to explain yourself, I understand. A father must take care of his child.” Gerard couldn’t stop smiling to himself as he was sure he was flushed bright ruby red on his cheeks...his entire face felt warm.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine. Better now that I’m talking to you.”

“Me, too. How’re you feeling? Non ti ho fatto del male, vero?”

“...I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me...I’m sorry...”

“Tu es si mignon quand tu t’excuses. I asked if you if I hurt you or not...”

“...ohhh. No...you didn’t hurt me. Not at all.” Frank laughed softly through his nostrils and Gerard could see his smile clearly in his mind...his handsome face, his sweet smile...his beautiful, big, and bright hazel eyes...Gerard wished he could be with him right at that moment.

“Tu as été incroyable hier soir.” He felt goosebumps appear on his skin as he bit down on his bottom lip, trying to contain his emotions but wouldn’t stop smiling and had the urge to giggle like he was a teenager with a huge crush, again.

“Last night was...the best. That was the greatest sex I’ve ever had...”

“I feel the same way...you never been with a man before me?”

“No...never. You were my first.” Gerard admitted, hesitating for a moment. His face was burning up and his entire face was bright rouge...he began to wonder how many men Frank had been with before.

“Mi sembra difficile da credere che tu fossi un talento naturale...” Frank spoke in Italian. Gerard didn’t know what he said to him, but he didn’t care because he loved hearing him speak.

“What about you?”

“E io?”

“How many men have you been with...?”

“Why, are you a jealous type?”

“...no, not really. Just want to know.”

“Tu es si mignon, je t’aime. Why don’t you meet me for coffee and you can ask me whatever questions you’d want to ask.”

“Right now?”

“Sure, why not? Are you busy?”

“No, I took B to school already. I already finished my new art project...and Lindsey isn’t home. Work.”

“Perfetto. Ti ho tutto per me.” Gerard giggled softly and agreed to meet Frank to grab a cup of coffee and get to know one another even better than ever before since they became a thing...almost as if it were a date.

Gerard drove his way over to the location where he agreed to meet Frank for coffee and chit chat, not having a single care in the world and felt excited to see Frank again; every time he saw him or heard his voice, he would light up with joy and his heart would go crazy inside of his chest...he made him feel young, again. He parked his car in a parking lot outside of a little French themed and designed café and couldn’t help but laugh to himself, not even the least bit surprised that Frank would pick a French themed place for them to hang out at.

When Gerard made his way through the front entrance, finding a decent crowd of people sitting at their tables while drinking coffee, ate their breakfast, reading books or typing away on their laptops...his bright, peridot colored eyes wandered around as he tried to find a familiar face.

“Je suis là, Gerard.” He turned his head over to find Frank’s handsome face staring back at him, smiling his perfect and heartwarming smile; showing off his perfectly straightened, pearly whites as his cheeks were a soft pink shade. His fair complexed, tattooed and perfectly clear skin looked radiant—as if he were glowing. He could see Gerard looked the same way as the sunlight coming from outside through the large, glass windows shined against him, making his face looked even more brighter.

“Hi.” Gerard said as he awkwardly waved his hand over at him, feeling somewhat bashful as he realized he couldn’t make direct eye contact with the beautiful Italian man.

“Tu es magnifique aujourd’hui. Tu brilles...” Gerard bit down on his bottom lip—that little gesture always made Frank’s smile soften into a smirk before licking his lips, proceeding to bite down on his bottom lip...teasing him back. Frank stood up from his seat and walked up close and personal—stepping in Gerard’s space, greeting him with a kiss on his cheek...Gerard felt his face warm up as the red staining his cheeks spread all throughout his beautiful, angelic face...making his green eyes look even greener and brighter than before.

“Tu es toujours belle.” Frank was driving Gerard crazy every time he spoke French and he was fully aware he was.

“...thanks. I’m glad you think so...” Gerard replied, still feeling somewhat bashful as he continued avoiding eye contact with Frank.

“Sit down, make yourself comfortable.” Frank said as he pulled Gerard’s chair out—holding his hand out to him to grab onto. He placed his hand in his and Frank helped him sit down in his seat before sitting himself back down.

“You’re quite the gentleman, aren’t you?” Frank let out a soft chuckle while nodding his head in response, making Gerard smile as he was sure he was still blushing.

“My mother insisted I practice and stick to having manners—she even helped my father out a bit since he was a wild type.”

“Much like you.” Frank smirked over at Gerard as a waitress approached them and took their orders before they continued talking. They ordered coffee, croissants, and crepes.

“So...are both your parents Italian?”

“No, just my father. I was named after him, too.”

“Your dad is named Frank, too?”

“Sì, è il Frank originale. Sono solo un clone.” Frank chuckled to himself before translating in English.

“My dad is Italian and my mom is American—but she’s of Polish descent.”

“You’re Polish, too?” Frank nodded his head in response. Gerard wanted to know everything about Frank so he kept the questions coming.

“Did your mom mind raising you in Italy?”

“Not at all. She loved it there—she and my dad married young and they had me. They both thought raising me in Italy would be good for me; teach me things that Americans take for granted—my father’s words, not mine.”

“You said she loved it there. Is she...?”

“No, no. She’s very much alive—just living back in the US, now. They split up when I was quite young.” Gerard couldn’t help but feel sad when he was told that Frank’s parents weren’t together.

“I’m sorry...”

“Non scusarti, mio dolce e bellissimo Gerard. Va tutto bene.” Frank loved how genuinely sweet Gerard was and he reached his hand out to place it down on top of his.

“I fell for an American, just like my father did.” Gerard stared down at Frank’s tattooed hand on top of his...his skin was silky smooth and warm to the touch. Their coffee had arrived and was placed on the table as well as a small basket of croissants. Their crepes arrived shortly afterwards and for a while, they sat in silence to eat their breakfast before continuing on with the questions.

“...Frank?” Gerard softly called out his name, making him lifted his head up to look at him. His eyes looked light brown as the sunlight shined in them...Gerard could even see a little touch of olive green around his pupil. He was always stunned by how beautiful his eyes are.

“...are we gonna talk about last night...?”

“Oh no, you’re feeling regret—“

“No, no...I swear I’m not. Just...I feel like we should talk about it.”

“You came over to my house in the middle of the night with tears in your eyes...I didn’t ask why because I didn’t like seeing you cry. I wanted to take your mind off of whatever it was you were feeling.”

“So your idea was...well...sex?” Gerard questioned him while raising an eyebrow. Frank’s smirk twisted into a half grin while letting out a soft chuckle.

“Sì, è stata una mia idea.”

“...why?”

“Because it was clear that you wanted me. I obviously wanted you...I want you all the time, now.” Gerard continued staring into Frank’s eyes without saying another word before breaking eye contact with him, finding himself looking down at his hand still resting on top of his.

“But I’m married...”

“I know.”

“Doesn’t that make you feel...well, bad?”

“No. I know you’re married, but I didn’t make the first move. You came up to me that day we first met at The Hotel Café—it was clear that you knew what you wanted.” Gerard slowly pulled his hand away from Frank’s...he stared down at his golden wedding band.

“Do you usually sleep with married men...?”

“I sleep with who I’m attracted to. And I’m attracted to you...I know you’re married. But you’re not happy with your marriage and you come to me to escape—live as someone else for a while...” Gerard found himself messing with his wedding band; twisting it around his left ring finger before slowly pulling it off while still gazing down at it.

“You don’t think what we did was a mistake...?”

“I don’t believe in mistakes. There’s what you do and what you don’t do. You knew what you were doing and I can’t make decisions for you...I just went along with what you wanted.”

“...so, are we together?”

“Do you want to be together?” Frank asked as he leaned his back up against the chair while crossing his arms over his chest.

“I do...but I don’t want to hurt Lindsey.”

“So, tell her. Be honest with her.”

“We have a daughter together, Frank...she could take B away from me and never let me see her. I can’t just go up to my wife and say ‘Hey, I’m in love with a man and want to be with him instead of you—I’ll see you during the holidays.’ It doesn’t work that way...”

“Lo so, non sono stupido.”

“I never said you were stupid...I just...I’m still married. And I don’t want to lose Bandit...”

“Do you still love Lindsey?”

“...I don’t know. She’s the first serious girlfriend I’ve ever had and she used to be so fun...she used to make me feel the same way you make me feel. But...something changed in her; like her personality did a complete one-eighty...it happened shortly before she got pregnant with our daughter. There will always be a part of me that loves her because she’s been with me for a long time and we’ve been through a lot together. She’s the mother of my child, so I love her for that...but...I don’t feel attracted to her. The thought of sex with her isn’t as exciting as it was with...well, with you.” Frank remained silent as he listened—occasionally nodding his head in agreement. He wasn’t mad at Gerard at all, he was very understanding in fact.

“I am in love with you though, Frank...I am. But I don’t know what to do about Lindsey...I’m not ready to tell her about us.”

“So, you do want to be together.” Frank said, smirking over at Gerard. Gerard was quiet but he nodded his head slowly in response.

“I want to be with you...but we’ve gotta keep a low profile. I don’t know how long our little fling will last, hopefully long enough, and I have to figure out a way to tell Lindsey about us...God, what am I saying...? I’m awful...” Gerard placed his wedding ring down on the table, making a soft ‘clang’ sound as he let out a soft sigh and ran his hands through his hair.

“No. You’re not awful...you’re finally just figuring yourself out. I don’t think you’ve been true to yourself for a long time.” Gerard felt his eyes stinging with tears as he tried to hold them back. He loved Frank, but he was still married...a part of him still loved and cared for Lindsey, but he wasn’t happy. Frank was right about what he said...Gerard hadn’t been true to himself.

“I’m sorry.”

“Perché ti dispiace?” Gerard stared over at Frank with tear glistened eyes and he could tell how emotional Gerard was starting to feel. He reached both his hands out to him once more, grabbing a hold of his hand in his—lightly grazing his thumb across his soft, porcelain white skin.

“Ne pleure pas, ne pleure pas.” Frank spoke sweetly and softly in perfect French, trying to keep Gerard grounded and calm.

“I’m sorry we met too late...I wish I wasn’t married when we first met.” Frank continued gently grazing his fingers across Gerard’s skin on his hand.

“All that matters is we met each other. And...now I’m yours.”

“And I’m yours...for as long as you want me to be.” Frank smiled over at Gerard and Gerard was able to calm himself down as he smiled a small smile back at him. Frank then leaned his head forward to place a soft kiss down against Gerard’s hand.

“Sii mia, sempre.” Gerard was unsure of what to say since he didn’t understand Italian and once again, kicking himself mentally for always asking Frank to translate and repeat himself.

“I’m sorry...English?” Frank chuckled softly as he lightly squeezed Gerard’s hand.

“Be mine, always.” Frank translated himself while making eye contact with him. Gerard flushed rouge again as he bit down on his bottom lip.

“Hey, do you wanna get out of here...?” Gerard suddenly suggested you Frank as he was no longer hungry.

“And go where?”

“...well, maybe we could go back to your place and...practice?” Frank raised an eyebrow as his smirk widened into a full, toothy smile.

“Practice?”

“Performing together on stage, remember?”

“Sure, I remember. But is that the kind of ‘practice’ you were suggesting?” Gerard’s cheeks remained stained bright crimson red as his eyes were still as green as peridots.

“Maybe I wanna make it up to you for leaving so suddenly earlier this morning...”

“Ragazzo cattivo.” Frank replied, winking over at him. Without saying another word, Frank pulled out his wallet and left a decent tip on the table and stood up from his chair, holding his hand out to Gerard.

Gerard grabbed a hold of Frank’s tattooed hand and he helped him up and out of his seat...Frank unexpectedly kissed him right there in the café and in front of everyone, and Gerard quickly pulled away—afraid that someone would say something. He was also feeling paranoid and was afraid that someone he knew would be there and witness him kissing someone who wasn’t Lindsey or even a female.

“It’s okay, tu es en sécurité, c’est bon.” Frank assured him as he placed his hand down against Gerard’s right, warm, and rosy cheek—lightly caressing it before leaning his face forward to kiss him once more. Gerard was still a bit hesitant but eventually kissed him back tenderly and sweetly before they both left the café and drove over to Frank’s house to practice.


	18. Something New

Gerard let out soft little sighs as small, breathy moans escaped his lips while Frank kissed his neck, hungrily. Frank had him pinned down flat on his back against his bed; his body on top of Gerard's as he continued kissing him—his tattooed hands feeling him up as they slid under his shirt...his warm and soft fingertips lightly grazing against his skin, making him skittish as his body tensed up at his touch.

"Ticklish...?" Frank whispered into Gerard's ear—he could feel the warmth of his breath against him, making his body tremble underneath him.

"Frank..." Gerard called out his name softly as he gripped onto Frank's shirt; lightly pulling and tugging on it as he deepened the sensual kisses down against his neck—applying slight pressure, making him more aroused as the pit of his stomach felt warm and fuzzy.

"Tu es si belle...regarde-toi." Frank seduced him as he spoke French—practically whispering into his ear, making goosebumps appear all throughout his body.

"The noises you make when I kiss you in certain places...like here—" Frank placed another kiss down against Gerard's neck, making his eyes close as he let out a soft sigh while biting down on his bottom lip.

"I love the face you make when I do that..." Frank smirked to himself as he placed another kiss down against Gerard's jawline. He felt tingles down his spine as he let out another soft and breathy moan as he arched his back before Frank placed a kiss against his lips.

The sound of their lips lightly smacking against one another's echoed all throughout Frank's bedroom as they kissed each other passionately—both of them feeling more excited with each passing second.

"Les bruits que tu fais sont de la musique à mes oreilles..." Frank continued wooing Gerard as his tattooed hands explored everywhere that got him excited...he felt his growing erection being constricted in his pants, as did Gerard.

"Frank, stop..." He pleaded softly as he began to feel the overwhelming amount of guilt slowly building up inside of him. Frank didn't hesitate to stop kissing and touching him as he looked down at him.

"Che succede? Stai bene?"

"...we shouldn't do this again, we can't..."

"We already did it once..."

"So you don't wanna do it, again...?" Gerard's cheeks reddened as he licked his lips and bit down on his bottom lip again, even harder than before.

"...I do...but, Frank...I'm married; I have a wife and a daughter..."

"I know...but that didn't stop you the first time..." The guilt was consuming Gerard and he felt like he was beginning to drown in it as he looked away from Frank...tears were building up inside of his eyes as his body continued trembling.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be rude..."

"No, its okay...you're right...it didn't stop me."

"So, what's stopping you now...?" Gerard didn't respond as he fell quiet while still avoiding eye contact with Frank. He didn't want to say what he was thinking out loud, afraid to ruin the moment between them or a possible chance of upsetting Frank, he bit down on his bottom lip while trying to hold back his tears.

"Hey..." Frank gently caressed Gerard's rosy, warm, soft cheek with the back of his tattooed hand. His touch made Gerard feel ecstatic as he felt shivers run down his spine, but he still wouldn't look into Frank's eyes.

"Voglio che mi guardi." Frank said as he lightly cupped Gerard's chin, slowly turning his head so that he could look up at him...he could see the tears glistening inside of his large, beautiful, bright eyes...they were a soft, jade green.

"It'll be okay..." He assured him as he wiped away a single tear escaped out of the corner of Gerard's left eye, sniffling softly as he swallowed his own saliva hard—he felt like he had a lump buried in his throat.

"...I can't do this...I shouldn't..." He finally spoke softly; his voice was almost a whisper, but Frank heard him and he softly shushed him while leaning forward to place a soothing kiss against Gerard's forehead while brushing away his shaggy bangs to see his beautiful and angelic face, clearly.

"Do you want me to stop...?" Frank continued speaking so sweetly and softly to Gerard as if he were a frightened child...he could feel his body trembling underneath him, still.

"...no...I don't...but, I can't do this again...I'm married..." Gerard whimpered softly as he felt the corners of his mouth twitching as his vision blurred as more tears were building up inside of them.

"Ti prego, non piangere..." Frank softly shushed Gerard again as he wiped away his tears before leaning his face forward again to place a kiss down against Gerard's forehead.

He was frozen with fear—he could feel it build up inside of his chest; his heart was pounding away erratically, it felt like it was about to explode inside of his chest...all he could do at that exact moment was cry.

Gerard could feel his eyes burning and stinging as his own tears continued building up and overflowing inside of them...he was panting softly—unable to catch his breath, he didn't know what to do.

"I'll stop. I'm sorry Gerard—" Frank was grabbed by his shirt and his lips roughly crashed against Gerard's lips; kissing each other hungrily while their hands felt up on one another's bodies, and Frank slipped his tongue inside of his mouth as his tattooed hands reached down for Gerard's jeans...his tattooed fingers fumbling around with both the button and zipper.

"I thought you wanted me to stop...?" Frank asked, pulling away from their sensual and intense kiss for a moment before successfully unbuttoning Gerard's jeans along with unzipping them.

"Shut up before I change my mind." Gerard replied in a soft and breathy tone as he grabbed at the bottom of Frank's shirt—tugging on it before lifting it up, revealing his bare and tattooed belly...Frank pulled away again to take off his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor beside the bed before going back to kiss Gerard.

It felt like a sudden adrenaline pumping through his veins and all the fear that he felt quickly began to fade into eagerness and pleasurable desires...Gerard moaned inside of Frank's mouth as their kiss deepened—they continued tasting each other as Frank's hand reached inside of his jeans; palming Gerard's growing erection as he began to rub it through the soft fabric of his boxers.

"Mi sorprendi..." Frank whispered into Gerard's ear, making goosebumps appear all throughout his porcelain white skin before Gerard sat himself up—still kissing his beautiful, Italian lover while adjusting his body along with Frank's.

Gerard pulled away from Frank's lips once more before his hands reached over for his pants now; undoing them in a matter of seconds while staring intensely into his stunning, bright hazel eyes. Both their eyes were filled with lust.

"I want you, Frank..."

"Tell me what you want..."

"I want to fuck you..." Gerard didn't even hesitate to demand what he wanted. Frank's eyes widened as his cheeks reddened...he was surprised but also turned on by Gerard deciding to take the role and lead them.

"Tu veux me baiser?"

"Je te veux tellement..." Frank grinned over at Gerard before leaning his face forward to kiss his lips once more—Gerard bit down on Frank's bottom lip, making him hiss out softly in pleasure before he removed his pants and bottoms completely, now completely naked for Gerard to see.

Gerard leaned his face forward to kiss Frank's lips while climbing on top of of him—lying the Italian man down flat on his back against his bed, pulling his jeans and bottoms off...he was bare from the waste down; his hard cock was free and poking against Frank.

The tip was red and glistened with his precum, pulsing lightly as he grabbed a hold of it with his trembling hand...lightly stroking it several times, lubing himself up before guiding it over towards Frank's right entrance.

"Have you ever done this...?" Gerard stopped to ask him, freezing himself—worried he hurt Frank as well as wondering if Frank was always a top when it came to sleeping with men.

"Get fucked by a man...?" Frank asked him, smirking up at him as his cheeks were stained bright rouge. Gerard nodded his head in response, wanting so badly to enter inside of him...but he had to wait for Frank to say it was okay.

"A few times. It has been a while, I'll admit..." Gerard imagined Frank being the receiver with another man...it honestly turned him on to see him being used and being vulnerable. He loved feeling Frank's cock inside of him the first, but now he wanted to feel Frank's insides...he was very curious.

"Are you sure you want me to...?" Frank grabbed at Gerard's shirt, pulling him down to kiss him—kissing him tenderly. That was his way of saying yes.

While still kissing Frank, Gerard then pulled back to prep himself by spitting into the palm of his hand; smearing his own thick, warm saliva all over his hard erection...he stroked it, hard, several times before bringing his tip over towards Frank's entrance. Frank tensed up at the feeling and Gerard could feel him as he lightly and gently rubbed his spit lubed tip against his warm, tight hole...slowly pushing himself inside, Frank arched his back as he held back a loud groan.

He bit down on his bottom lip as his face reddened even brighter than before...he let out a loud sigh while cursing out softly in Italian as Gerard didn't hesitate to slowly thrust his hips against Frank—pushing his cock in and out of him, at a slow and steady pace.

"Oh, mio Dio...fa cosi' male..." Frank moaned out in his soft, low, breathy tone as he got used to the feeling of Gerard being inside of him...he admits he much preferred taking charge and being the top, but he could also get used to being the bottom every now and then.

Gerard felt sexually relieved since he let Frank have him. Now he wanted to return the favor and make Frank feel the same way he did the other night...Gerard felt a warm and tingling sensation build up in the pit of his stomach as he held his breath—staring at Frank's handsome face; watching it twist into pleasure as his eyes rolled back before closing and his mouth hung open...Gerard picked up the pace a bit as he grabbed a hold of Frank's legs, spreading them open a little wider as he pushed his entire cock deep inside of his Italian, tattooed lover.

"Oh, fuck..." Frank breathed out as he licked his lips before biting down on his bottom lip even harder while gripping onto the blanket below his bare and naked body.

Gerard finally let out several moans and groans as he continued thrusting his hips against Frank—making the bed creak softly and repeatedly; filling the room with creaks, moans, and heavy breathing.

"So good...so tight..." Gerard moaned out as he continued penetrating himself in and out of Frank's tight hole—loosening it up; stretching him wider as he picked up the pace and fucked him even harder and faster than before.

"Continue de me baiser, n'arrête jamais..." Frank breathed out in French as he let out more moans and groans—occasionally letting more more soft cursing as the creaking if they bed grew louder; echoing all throughout his bedroom.

"I'm gonna cum...I can feel it..."

"Coupe en moi..." Frank moaned out as he stared up into Gerard's bright, lust filled, peridot eyes while he continued penetrating himself in and out of him—feeling that familiar feeling continue to build up in the out of pit of his stomach.

Gerard penetrated in and out of Frank a few more times; each thrust was harder than the last and he kept hitting Frank's prostate...making the handsome, Italian man let out more loud and pleasurable moans and groans as his eyes rolled back again as Gerard wrapped his hand around Frank's hard dick—quickly pumping his hand up and down his shaft, making Frank's breath get caught in the back of his throat as they made direct eye contact with each other, never breaking it.

"Oh fuck, Frank...I'm gonna cum..." Gerard gasped out as he continued stroking Frank's cock at a quicker pace, making him let out more loud moans and groans as he too felt close to climaxing.

Frank was the first to cum in Gerard's hand, hard, before he released himself deep inside of Frank's asshole...Gerard sealed his eyes shut as his jaw dropped open, letting out a loud and echoing groan.

He'd never felt so sexually relieved...they both stayed like that for a while before exchanging another kiss.

"...wow..." Was all Frank could breathe out while catching his breath; his bare and tattooed chest was glistened with his own sweat as it was heaving up and down at a quick pace.

"Was that a good 'wow'...?" Gerard chuckled out softly in between breaths as he stayed in position, his dick still resting inside of Frank's cum filled asshole.

"Sì, un buon 'wow'..." Frank replied while still catching his breath, smirking up at Gerard. He leaned his head down until his sweaty forehead touched Frank's...they laid together in silence and Frank looked into Gerard's gorgeous green eyes. Admiring his long and curly eyelashes while bringing his tattooed hand over to touch his warm, red, and soft cheek—gently caressing his skin with his soft fingertips...Gerard was admiring Frank's beauty, as well.

He thought he looked incredibly stunning—especially underneath him...he leaned his face forward to kiss Frank's lips once more, this time sweetly and tenderly; playfully biting down on the Italian man's bottom lip—making him chuckle softly.

"We should practice..."

"Oh, now you want to practice with music...?"

"Tais-toi." Frank raised an eyebrow, still surprised that Gerard did understand and speak a little French...he thought it was quite sexy hearing Gerard speak it.

"Pas besoin d'être impoli..." Gerard smirked down at Frank before placing a small peck on the tip of his small, cute, rounded nose. Finally Gerard slowly pulled himself out of Frank...both of them winced at the feeling but remained quiet as they changed back into their clothes.

"You confuse me and amaze me." Frank admitted, finally breaking the silence in the room as he got his pants back on while searching for his shirt.

"...sorry." Gerard mumbled softly under his breath, feeling slightly embarrassed—knowing for a fact he send mixed signals all over the place. First he felt guilty for going back to Frank's place to sleep with him once more, but then—like a light switch, he wanted Frank.

He wanted to taste him; he wanted to touch him; he wanted to feel him...Gerard just wanted Frank. It didn't mean his guilt went away, he just buried it deeper inside of him.

"No apologies, Gerard. Mi fai impazzire, ma sono ancora pazzo di te." Frank's accent was stronger than before as he spoke Italian...continuously rolling off his tongue and sending chills down Gerard's spine. Frank finally found his shirt and quickly pulled it on over his head—messing up his hair a bit before slicking it back with one of his tattooed hands.

"Don't worry." Frank said as he made his way over to Gerard—wrapping both his arms around his waist and standing on his tippy toes to kiss his lips.

"Ready?"

"You seriously want to practice, still...?" Frank chuckled softly as did Gerard.

"Sei così divertente. Come on." Frank said as he grabbed a hold of Gerard's hand in his as he guided them back to his music room to actually practice performing a couple of songs together before their upcoming duet happening where they first met.


	19. Everything Is (Not) Okay

They practiced performing songs for a good two hours, surprisingly. Gerard wasn’t sure if it was just him or not, but Frank seemed to play a million times better—if that was even remotely possible, but he did. While Gerard sang his heart out; pouring all of his emotions out as he held onto the microphone with one hand while the other clutched onto the microphone stand, he was unaware that Frank would occasionally turn his gaze over at him and smile at him while still strumming the strings on his guitar—never messing up, once.

They sounded good together, Gerard and Frank. Gerard was skeptical when it came to fate but in some ways...his life became more interesting when he met Frank...he’s never met anyone like him, before. Just to think, if he hadn’t gone to his favorite café that day, he wouldn’t have Frank Iero in his life.

He also couldn’t help but wonder if somehow, fate, or destiny—whatever controlled people’s lives, would make them encounter one another. Someway and somehow.

“I’ve got to get going—Bandit will be out of school soon and I have to pick her up.” 

“Of course. II Bandito ha bisogno di te. Inoltre, ci rivedremo.” Frank replied in Italian while smiling over at Gerard; showing off his perfect, straight, pearly white teeth as his cheeks reddened.

Gerard smiled back at him before Frank embraced him with a goodbye kiss; it was a long, sweet, and tender kiss...even involved a little tongue—their kiss became open mouthed before Frank realized he was going a little too far and had to pull away from their heated kiss.

“I’m sorry...” Frank apologized softly as he licked his lips while straightening himself out.

“No, don’t be—wish I didn’t have to go...if I could I’d pick up Bandit and bring her, here.” Gerard was certain that his daughter liked Frank; the first time they met at the park, she really opened up to him...maybe he could bring her by his place someday. Maybe.

“Vorrei rivedere la principessa, di nuovo. She’s sweet.”

“So...you’d wanna see her, again?” Gerard asked him as he felt his heart race inside of his chest. He didn’t know why, but he felt anxious at the thought of bringing Bandit by to see Frank...part of him worried that if he did that it’d end up coming back to bite him in the ass. Maybe he was just being paranoid and thinking too much into it.

“I’d love to see you both, again.” Frank responded while still smiling over at Gerard. His smile always somehow reassured Gerard that as long as he was with him, he felt safe. As long as he was with Frank...maybe everything would be okay.

“Okay then...good. I’ll remember that.” Gerard said, nodding his head as he went over to Frank’s living room to retrieve his shoes, his wallet, and his car keys. 

“À bientôt. Prends soin de toi, Gerard.” Frank said as he made his way over towards him—following him to the front door. Just before he stepped out, they exchanged one more kiss...this one was quick and sweet; a simple peck against Gerard’s lips from Frank was enough to leave him blushing and trying to hide his smile as he made his way back to his car.

~

While Bandit sat at the dining table coloring in her coloring book while Gerard prepared dinner in the kitchen, he was so lost in daydreaming that he wasn’t even aware of his cellphone ringing in the background.

“Daddy, phone.” Bandit said while still coloring; her large, rounded, dark eyes never leaving the page she was working on. Gerard didn’t even hear his daughter speak to him and his phone continued ringing.

“Daddy—your phone is ringing.” Bandit reminded him again, this time she stopped coloring and lifted her head up to look over at him chop up tomatoes on the cutting board on the kitchen counter. When he didn’t respond a second time, Bandit quickly got out of her seat at the dining table, grabbing Gerard’s phone while checking who was calling.

She paced over towards her father—holding his phone in one hand while the other one grabbed onto his shirt; lightly tugging at it, finally getting his attention as he stopped chopping up the tomatoes for the salad he was preparing, turning around to face his young daughter.

“Uncle Mikey is calling.”

“Thank you, monkey.”

“I told you two times, daddy. But you’re welcome.” Bandit playfully rolled her eyes, smiling up at him while shaking her head. Gerard smiled back, lightly patting the top of his daughter’s head before answering his phone while Bandit went back to coloring.

“Hey, Mikey.” Gerard answered his phone while leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Hey, Gee. Everything okay?”

“Uh, yeah...? Why?”

“Just checking up on you, dork. I don’t know—had a feeling or something and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Why, did Lindsey say something?”

“Are you two still fighting...?” Gerard had to bite his tongue since Bandit was in the room. He sighed softly under his breath, swallowing his own saliva hard but his throat felt dry...his heart thumped away rapidly inside of his chest 

“We’re...trying to work things out.” Was all Gerard replied with, hesitating before letting it all out. Bandit overheard as she lifted up her head once more, looking over at him but he didn’t notice.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really...same old shit, really.” Gerard tried to talk as softly and quietly as he could, still unaware that his daughter was still gazing over at him before she went back to coloring.

“You guys have never fought this badly before. Should I be concerned...?” Mikey was never really one to show much emotion or express it, but Gerard could actually tell by the difference in Mikey’s voice and tone that he was genuinely concerned.

“No...no. Everything is fine.” Gerard lied through his teeth, his heart racing erratically inside of his chest as he listened to the silence coming from the other end. Mikey didn’t believe him.

“Is it that Frank guy?” Mikey finally spoke after leaving Gerard alone to the sound of nothing.

“Mikey, no. We’re trying to work it all out...” Bandit overheard everything but didn’t want it to bother her so she just ignored all background noises and focused on her coloring, almost finished with it before moving onto the next colorless page.

“You’re my brother. You can tell me anything—I want you to tell me anything going on in your life.”

“I know, Mikey. I’ve known that all my life...”

“So talk to me, then.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” 

“Daddy—the chicken is burning!” Bandit interrupted the conversations between her father and uncle. Gerard didn’t even notice the smoke fogging up the kitchen; the thickness of the smoke coming from the burning chicken resting inside of the scorching hot skillet made the smoke detector go off—wailing loudly and repeatedly all through the kitchen.

Bandit stopped coloring to cover her ears as her little face scrunched up in discomfort and felt slightly startled as well as alarmed.

“Shit—“ Gerard cursed softly under his breath as he paced his way over towards the stove to rescue the burning chicken. Mikey was still on the phone with him and could hear everything going on through the other line.

“Gee...? Is everything okay?”

“No, in fact it’s the exact opposite at the moment—look, I’ve got a lot on my hands right now, we’ll talk later okay? Bye.” Without letting Mikey respond, Gerard hung up the phone while trying to save dinner.

“Shit, shit, shit!” He harshly whispered under his breath and through his teeth at the realizing that one side of each chicken was blackened, completely.

After attempting to rescue the chicken, Gerard opened some windows and the back door to let the smoke out...eventually the loud and annoying smoke detector shut off and the house was silent, again.

“Is dinner ruined...?” Bandit asked Gerard once he looked more calm—or at least giving him a moment to catch his breath.

“I tried...”

“That’s okay, daddy. Accidents happen.” She smiled over at him; smiling the same smile as Lindsey’s...it made him feel all the more guilty.

“How does pizza sound?” Gerard suggested—trying to save dinner. Bandit’s large, dark eyes brightened with joy as she didn’t hesitate to respond by nodding her head quickly while trying to contain her smile.

After he ordered pizza, while waiting for it, Gerard cleaned up and threw away the burnt chicken while putting away the salad he prepared for later. Bandit remained quiet as she watched him from the dining table where she was still coloring inside of her coloring book.

She wasn’t upset...more curious. But she was afraid to say anything...Bandit was afraid of making her dad angry or sad.

“You okay, B?” Gerard asked his young daughter once he finally realized she’d been staring at him from a distance—he felt her eyes gazing over at him; practically burning a hole though him if she could.

“Mhmm.” Was all she responded with, realizing she’d been caught so she held her head down and tried to focus on her coloring.

“You’ve been staring at me—I know you have. That means something is on your mind...so talk to me.” Instant déjà vu since Mikey literally said the exact same words to him through the phone not too long ago.

“Nothing...”

“B, I know you heard me on the phone with uncle Mikey.” Gerard noticed Bandit tense up a bit in her chair as she continued avoiding direct eye contact with her father. She looked anxious.

“Monkey, look at me—“ Gerard said as he placed his hand down against Bandit’s shoulder while his other hand grabbed her hand—stopping it from coloring. Bandit let out a soft sigh as she felt defeated and stopped what she was doing to look at Gerard.

“What’s bothering you, B?”

“...are you and mommy okay...?” She finally asked. Silence lingered between them for a brief moment before Gerard softly cleared his throat—trying to explain in the best way possible to his daughter that everything between him and Lindsey was okay...even though he’d be lying to her, she didn’t need to know the truth. Not just yet, anyways.

“We’ve been having some fights lately...but grown ups sometimes have disagreements. Do you understand?” Bandit nodded her head slowly as she continued listening to what he had to say.

“Mommy and daddy are trying to work things out, monkey...we’ll be okay, though.”

“Is that why you haven’t been home so much, lately...?” Feeling like a slap across his face, he hoped Bandit wouldn’t have noticed that. She’s more observant than she comes off for her young age.

“Sometimes daddy just needs to get away.”

“As long as you come back...” Bandit then wrapped both her small arms around Gerard’s arm as she leaned herself against him—squeezing her grip around him.

“Of course I’ll always come back...I could never leave you.” And that part was true. He loved his baby girl more than anything and though he wished things were different about his life, Bandit was the one thing he wouldn’t change.

“I don’t like it when you go...it makes me sad. It makes mommy sad, too.”

“I’m sorry...” He apologized softly...feeling that overwhelming amount of guilt as he then grabbed a hold of his daughter with both arms; scooping her small and light body off and away from her own seat to embrace her with a loving hug.

“I love you, B.”

“I know, silly goose. I love you, too.”

“You mean the world to me...never forget that. Okay?”

“I won’t, daddy.” Bandit spoke softly in her sweet, high pitched voice as she squeezed her grip around Gerard’s neck, choking him a bit though he didn’t care.

~

Lindsey worked late that night and even got invited by friends and fellow coworkers for drinks afterwards. She gladly accepted since she and Gerard were still pissed at one another.

She was usually the social butterfly and quite the extrovert when it came to people and going to large events with groups of friends...not that night though. She was very different; quiet, distant, and clearly distressed though she was able to hide it through a fake smile. She thought about Gerard while out—wondering if he ever came home after storming off so suddenly out of rage...she blamed herself for how she talked to him. She was in her head a lot while occasionally sipping on either something fruity or something strong as she eyed her phone a lot, occasionally checking it to see if she had a text or a missed phone call from him. She felt pathetic.

‘He’s having an affair...with Frank. With a man.’ Lindsey kept telling herself while downing her third drink—a Long Island iced tea, while listening to her friends and coworkers talk about whatever topic came to mind. She continued eyeing her phone; hoping the screen would light up in someway that wasn’t a notification for Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

‘My husband is gay...you don’t excite him anymore. Maybe you never did...’ That little voice inside of her head kept telling her, making her feel even worse as she finished her drink and proceeded by ordering another, this time an apple martini.

“Are you okay, Lynz?” One of her coworkers asked her when they noticed the blank expression on her pale face and the sadness buried in her dark eyes.

“Huh?” She asked, coming back into reality and putting her phone down against her lap.

“You look upset or something...are you okay?” Her coworker asked her once more while placing her hand down against Lindsey’s shoulder while staring in concern.

“Oh...yeah, I’m fine. Just tired is all.” She lied, which was making her feel queasy and adding alcohol wasn’t exactly helping.

“I can take you home if you’d like—I didn’t realize how late it was...” 

“No, don’t apologize...I think I’ll just order an Uber or something.”

“Are you sure? It’s honestly not a problem—“

“Yeah, yeah—really, I’ll be fine. Thanks, I had fun time, hope you have a good night.” Lindsey managed to say a full sentence even though she mostly slurred and mumbled softly since it was clear as crystal she was at least super buzzed if not drunk.

As she said her goodbyes to everyone while exchanging tight hugs, she stumbled her way out of the bar while proceeding to order herself an Uber to get home. She was more than surprised when she saw that she had an unread text message from Gerard.

Gee  🥰 :

“I hope you’re okay, wherever you are. I do.” It was short and simple, but it was enough to make Lindsey feel emotional as she felt her eyes tearing up; her vision blurred as she felt hot tears spill down her cheeks—sniffling softly while wiping them away.

Trying to hold herself together as she patiently waited for her ride, she was tempted to reply to her husband’s text, but part of her was still angry and upset with him. The other part was desperate and willing to talk to him—forgive him and love him. She did love him...even if she had an odd way of expressing it, sometimes. She was afraid of losing Gerard. What Lindsey feared even more was that she already lost him...she wanted to be wrong, but she can see it happening. She can feel it.


	20. Sexting

Lindsey was quiet during the drive and was either looking down at her phone—scrolling through old photos of her, Gerard, and Bandit. Back when things seemed so simple and when they were happy...she felt sad because she realized how much everything had changed. When she wasn’t on her phone, she placed all of her attention on the view of California from the car window in the backseat of her Uber driver’s car.

When she finally arrived home, outside was pitch black but she noticed the light outside the front door to her house was still on so that meant Gerard was still awake...part of her hoped he was. The other part still wanted to avoid him.

Drunkly stumbling towards the front door while searching for her house key inside of her purse, Lindsey successfully unlocked the it and found the inside of the house dark and quiet...the only sounds were coming from Lindsey as she clumsily removed her shoes along with her coat—tossing her keys onto the counter before making her way into the kitchen to find something to snack on since she felt a bit peckish. 

The kitchen still smelled like something burned but it wasn’t as strong and the dining table was decorated with Bandit’s coloring book, crayons and colored pencils, and two pizza boxes. Lindsey felt relieved to find pizza was still inside and helped herself; eating alone in her dark and quiet kitchen, still feeling drunk.

She checked on Bandit first before heading to her’s and Gerard’s bedroom to shower up and call it a night...she found Gerard had fallen asleep with Bandit in her small bed—he was under the blanket with her, cuddling her. They looked peaceful, together.

Not wanting to disturb them, Lindsey carried on by taking a nice, hot, and soothing shower following her brushing her teeth and brushing her hair. Once she settled herself into bed after changing into some comfortable pajamas...shortly after she heard a loud and startling vibration coming from the nightstand beside the bed...it was Gerard’s phone. He had received a text message from Frank.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Hey, I missed you today. Looking forward to performing with you  😉❤️ Ci vediamo nei miei sogni, buonanotte.” Without giving it a second thought, Lindsey stared at the message on Gerard’s brightly lit phone screen before it went completely black and she hesitated for a moment before grabbing his phone to reread the text from Frank.

She was tempted to open his phone and go through all text messages between him and Frank...but she didn’t want to invade his privacy. Lindsey wanted to believe for a minute that her husband wasn’t cheating on her; that it was all in her head and she was just being paranoid, but she wasn’t stupid and the text message was clearly a sign—with the little emojis and sweet talk, Gerard spending lots of time with him in just a short amount of time...leaving in the middle of the night and not returning home until the next day...still, Lindsey wanted to just pretend that it was all in her mind. At least for a little while.

Letting out a soft sigh in defeat, Lindsey shook her head slowly before placing Gerard’s phone back down on the nightstand—face down this time.

~

Gerard awoke in the middle of the night, forgetting where he was for a moment until he realized Bandit was sleeping soundly in his arms; breathing softly as she clung onto her Robin plush. He then remembered that after they had pizza, they played together for a while before watching a movie together on the living room couch before Bandit got ready for bed. He read her a bedtime story and decided to stay by his daughter’s side once he realized she finally dozed off—clinging onto his arm rather tightly so he wouldn’t leave...he felt bad because Bandit clearly missed her father.

Unaware of what time it was, Gerard knew that he had to go to the bathroom—his bladder felt like it was about to burst. He slowly and carefully got out of Bandit’s bed; trying his best to not wake her, he tucked her in and placed a soft and sweet kiss against her head before leaving her bedroom.

Afterwards Gerard went to go find his phone, freezing where he stood once he pushed his bedroom door open to find his wife asleep in their bed, alone. 

Not wanting to wake her, he was so quiet as he slowly made his way into their bedroom to retrieve his phone resting face down on the nightstand...he didn’t remember leaving it face down. Shrugging it off, Gerard grabbed his phone and quickly left their bedroom—closing the door as gently as possible...his heart racing inside of his chest; it felt like the wings of a butterfly or a hummingbird as he didn’t hesitate to open up his phone to check his texts.

He smiled to himself when he found Frank’s message and sent one back, even though he was certain Frank was asleep. Part of Gerard was surprised when Frank texted back...it was late—almost two in the morning, yet he texted back. He was surprised, but also expected it.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“What’re you doing awake, il mio bellissimo Gerard?”

“I was asleep for a good while, but then I just woke up feeling wide awake. What’re you doing awake?”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Are you alone?”

“My wife and daughter are home; they’re asleep.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Sto pensando a te...che pensi di toccarti...” Gerard could hear Frank’s voice clearly in his mind as he reread his text—hearing his thick Italian accent spoken so softly, seductively, raspy...he wished he understood what he was saying, but it still sent goosebumps throughout his body.

Before Gerard could reply, Frank sent him another text message—a photo to be exact. It was a photo of his hard and aroused dick...Gerard’s breath got caught in the back of his throat and it felt like he had butterflies fluttering around inside of his stomach.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“I can’t stop thinking about you...tasting you, feeling you, spending time with you...” Gerard couldn’t stop thinking about Frank either and he wished he was with him at that very moment. He quickly made his way towards the nearest bathroom to take care of himself...he felt his cock growing hard inside of his pants; aching and pulsing just to be touched...Frank was his weakness.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“I’m so hard for you...are you touching yourself?” Gerard’s heart was thumping away rapidly inside of his chest as he closed the toilet seat lid before sitting himself down while undoing his pants—pulling them down around his ankles, freeing his half hard dick before wrapping his trembling hand around it; pumping his hand up and down his shaft at a slow and steady pace, making himself even harder by each passing second.

“Yes...I’m thinking about you while touching myself...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Show me. Fammi vedere...” He hesitated doing it for a moment before just going along with it—stroking his erection several more times before snapping a photo of it to send to Frank to gaze upon while he pleasured himself.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“You’re beautiful, Gerard...vous êtes si parfaite.”

“You’re the perfect one...you make me weak...” 

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Vous êtes ma faiblesse, aussi...Je suis accro à toi.” Gerard could still hear Frank’s voice in his head as he touched himself—imagining his soft, warm, and tattooed hands stroking his cock. 

Gerard quickened the pace as he pumped his hand up and down his hard dick—he closed his eyes as he exhaled sharply, biting down on his bottom lip while letting out a soft moan, trying not to be so loud so he wouldn’t wake his wife or daughter.

“I feel close to cumming...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 : 

“Me too...I feel close.”

“I can’t wait to see you again...I need you...I want you.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Non vedo l’ora di rivederti. God, I’m so close...”

“I wish it was you touching me...I crave your touch.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Ti desidero...” Gerard’s heart raced even quicker than before—feeling like it was going to burst through his chest, biting down on his bottom lip so hard he thought he could taste his own blood on his tongue...he let out several more moans as he let out a soft gasp—climaxing hard into his hand, exhaling sharply.

He stayed like that for a moment to catch his breath...his body felt like it was on vibrate and his toes were numb as his heart began to calm down, not feeling like it was about to explode, anymore.

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Did you cum?”

“I did...I came a lot...hard.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Me, too. J’aime ça dur.  😉❤️ ”

“I’m tired, again...”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 : 

“You should get some sleep. We both should...I’ve been up working on songs and practicing. I just wanted to hear from you...mi sei mancato.  😘 ”

“You’ll see me soon. We’re performing together, remember?”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Certo che ricordo, non lo dimenticherei mai.  ❤️ ”

“Until then...get some sleep. I’ll see you around, Frank.”

Frank  🇮🇹🎸 :

“Bonne nuit, mon beau Gérard. Until then.” After their little moment together, Gerard cleaned himself up...part of him still felt guilty and sick to his stomach while the other part was satisfied and relieved. When he left the bathroom, he found Bandit standing outside the bathroom door—half asleep, dressed in her pajamas still, and clinging onto her Robin plushie.

“...shit—you scared me, monkey...”

“Sorry, daddy...I’m just thirsty.”

“Come on, let’s get you something to drink and then back to bed for you.” Gerard said as he grabbed a hold of Bandit’s small hand in his as he walked her downstairs and into the kitchen for a glass of cold water.

“Are you going back to sleep, too?”

“Not yet...I think I’m going to work on drawing a little. I’m inspired.” Bandit emptied her glass as she chugged the water down in a matter of seconds. Gerard carried her back into her room, tucking her in.

Gerard felt tired, he wanted to sleep but couldn’t. Not at that very moment. Afraid that his guilty conscious would keep him awake or give him nightmares...all he wanted to do was draw. The way Frank made him feel, he was extremely motivated to work on his art—create fresh and raw pieces of art...pulling him out of his funk. Frank was his muse...but he was also his dirty little secret.


End file.
